I'm who now?
by Clemerl
Summary: Being dropped into the killing game is always a dangerous place to be as a student of Hope's Peak, not knowing what will happen or who will kill whom. But what happens when the one in charge has a change of heart? Or rather, has the mind of someone else entirely who will stop at nothing to save everyone they can. Even if it dives them to Despair.
1. End of the Ultimate Despair

Despair.

The meaning of this word is, quote, "the lack or loss of hope." It is an emotion that can bring even the strongest of souls to do terrible and unspeakable things. It can be found in even the strongest of hearts and while the quantity can vary from person to person, it can always be found in even the mightiest of people. The horrible emotion can pierce the mightiest of souls and leave a gaping hole in its wake. It is as terrible a thing to experience as it is to see happen to another unfortunate soul. Yet at the same time, it can be overcome, bringing wisdom that could never be found otherwise.

In some ways, the same could be said about its coexisting partner known as, "Hope." While hope can be a way to help persevere in the wake of bad times and help bring resolve to the forefront of their actions. It can bring them light in the darkest of times, helping them push forward through times of pain to bring forth a better tomorrow.

However, it is difficult to maintain and can blind a person in large dosages, making them unable to cope when an event of tragedy comes upon them. It can cause them to act recklessly and leaves them in a far stronger state of agony when misery strikes. When this happens, it will leave them in a far deeper state of its brother emotion, despair, then it would have had they come at a situation with their guard up and with caution guiding them.

These two, though greatly different in their methods, are one of many counter acts in existence. Such as Yin and Yang, Good and Evil, and Intelligence and Ignorance; it does not take too much of one to upset the extremely delicate balance with the other. The dangers of even one of these going too far can drive a person to madness. Yet, at the same time, they can save someone by acting as an anchor to their turmoil.

But through this one must ask. Does the usage of one in the name of helping bring forth the other count towards salvation, or damnation? Does causing pain in order to strengthen ones resolve to do what is right count as just, or foolish? Does bringing someone to the deepest depths of despair in order for them to bring a much greater hope to others count towards brilliance, or foolishness?

In any case, there is a place that believes in cultivating talented individuals in an effort to raise the future "hope" of the nation, earning it the moniker "The Academy of Hope". The name of this place? Kibougamine Academy, or it's more well-known moniker, "Hope's Peak Academy." A massive school that is considered among one of the best, if not _the_ best, high school to grace the world. So much so that it has been stated that, to be accepted into their ranks and succeed in graduating is to guarantee a financially stable career and future.

Many could claim that the reason for this could be linked to their choice to employ only the highest quality teachers to help guide the youthful minds as they mature. Others believe that it is the school itself that brings this talent to the surface with their overwhelmingly diverse topics for the students to pursue in the name of their educations. However, a majority of those asked think that a good portion of their successes would be linked to the fact that, with only a few special exemptions, the only students to attend are the hand-picked "best of the bests" that can be found in the world at anything; and they do mean _anything_.

It doesn't matter how valuable or underwhelming your talent is, if you were the absolute best at it before you graduated high school, you had a chance to become one of the school's ultimate students. These ultimate students, or "Super High School Level" students depending on who you asked, were each capable of incredible feats despite their ages. Many of these people could be considered to be overwhelmingly spectacular at what they do and would need only need to put in minimum effort to succeed, so long as it matched with their assigned talent.

But that's all semantics at this point. The reason to bring up this school is for only one thing. It is at this school that, ironically, a series of major events happened that caused a great amount of Despair to infect the world, bringing about massive amounts of pain and misery to all who heard of the misery it routs.

The first was an event referred to only as, "The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history". The specifics of the incident were never truly revealed to many of the public, but those that had heard or unfortunately witnessed it could only claim that it had been an extraordinary form of social unrest, which quickly culminated into uncontrolled, meaningless chaos, violence, and death. Through this event, despair soon engulfed the world and it soon became more violent by the day. Soon, chaos and death became a normal part of society and the major world-wide event known as "The Tragedy" truly came into power. It was for this reason that the school would be put into a voluntary lock down, to protect the students within from the events taking place though the outside world.

However, the next event a year later would seal the fate of this once fine establishment. In an attempted repeat of the events that spawned The Tragedy, the instigator and mastermind behind the first attempt to bring the students of the locked down school to such a level of despair that they would attempt to end the lives of their fellow students in an attempt to escape from their voluntary prison. She did this by wiping their minds of all of the events that transpired, how so is unknown, and weaving a lie to them that they could only leave their school through the death of one of their own, intentionally leaving out why they were there in the first place. Eventually, through the mastermind's manipulations, many of the students would die at each other's hands as the days passed.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to happen.

Unfortunately for the mastermind, things don't always go the way you want and even the best laid plans can fall flat in the face of human ingenuity, facts, and luck both good and bad. Though a variable that the mastermind refused to see, a young student was able to thwart their plans to a degree, and in the end prevented the surviving students from falling into despair, and even managed to save a fair amount of their class before vowing to bring hope back to the world. In the end, the mastermind, refusing to see the possibility of such a thing, took their own life in an act of defiance to the ideals of hope the student tried to show them. This in fact, would be where their story ends.

But stories are not restricted to such things as facts and fate can be just as fickle. There can be bends, twists, and breaks in all rules and logics and these can change the way events happen, in many different ways. And just because the story for one person ends, doesn't necessarily mean that the tale of another follows suit. In other words; every story has its constants and variables.

For this story, however, I'll have to ask for a slight suspension of disbelief, for the tale I wove for you before, in my world, was but a story told several times over. In many cases a person would tell this story as if they had been unfortunate enough to be whisked into either this world or another and given an opportunity to assist the hero. Either through a representation of their own making, or by taking the place of the students fated to perish and rewriting as they see fit.

But, unfortunately for me, as I look around at the fifteen determined faces I've grown to see as unintentional comrades, all aiming for a common goal of freedom, did I feel both regrets and pride. Here, at the final curtain call trial I had helped them to reach, despite many actions and plays that had caused no end to the suffering they'd endured. Actions of which that I truly have been responsible for in some way. I can only brush my long red, bleached strawberry blonde hair out of my red eyes covered in blue contact lenses back behind my ears, as a single question that I have asked several times since my arrival came to my mind.

'Of all of the people who I could have replaced,' I thought with a fake twisted grin thrown onto my face to keep up appearances. 'Of all the people in this room that should have died.' a demented laugh that I had been practicing for days in preparation for this, burst forth from my glossy lips. 'Of all of the crazy things that could have happened to get me into this place,' the slender hand of my near hour glass body, covered in the sleeves of a black cardigan over a white dress shirt, hovered menacingly over a red button that would end this farce of a trial and allow for the freedom of these individuals. 'Why?'

"And now," I muttered in a crazed tone just loud enough to be heard by the others, "it's the moment we've all been waiting so long for." My voice raising ever so slightly with each word, my hand rising in unity. Finally, ignoring their expressions changing to that of ether shock, horror, or otherwise, my hand slammed down on the large red button despite a cry of "No! Wait!" from both the boy across from me and the soldier who had help them reach this point, and I near shouted out what would likely be my final words.

"IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

'Why did it have to be through Junko Enoshima?'

* * *

 **Hello people of the internet. How are you doing? Welcome to my first bit of fanfiction on this sight.**

 **Now, let us get in to the reasoning behind this fic's conception. See, in my time looking and reading fanfiction here on this sight, I have seen all kinds of stories. Crossovers, self inserts, revamps of old stories with elements either from later in the series or even ones like this where a character over takes an already established character in an attempt to save the world as they know it. Yet, in all my time, I have never truly encountered one that brings up this question.**

 **What would happen if the good guy possessed the antagonist and had to do the wrong things to protect the main character.**

 **I've seen it so rarely done. And never for something like this franchise. How would you react to being the bad guy and having all of their power, but being forced to use it for the sake of evil to protect the hero? Would you be able to manipulate things to your advantage to save things and people that you knew would parish otherwise, and how would you do it? How much would you risk; your morals, your beliefs, your very life?**

 **That is my goal here, to see how much I can push myself by being the Mastermind, and figuring out just how far I will go to save everyone I can in this hopeless situation. It's a challenge I'm willing to try at the very least. Let us all join in and try to see just how far down the rabbit hole we go with this.**

 **Oh, and one thing. If you feel up to it, try this out for yourself. Pick a series that you love, and put yourself in their main antagonist's shoes. See how long you can still be the villain while assisting the hero from the enemy's side as their leader. But all without exposing your position as the inside man. See how far you can push yourself.**


	2. Fall to Despair

"Man that was intense."

I sighed to myself as I looked at the ending credits scrolling across the screen of my PlayStation Vita. I had just finished the final chapter of one of my favorite games that I had been putting off for a few weeks despite my desires to play it. I had been busy with both work and collage, plus I had wanted a chance to play through the entirety of it at least a few times before the inevitable requirement of work reeled its ugly head again.

The game in question was called, "Dangan Ronpa 1.2 Reload." A game that merged the two games "Dangan Ronpa: Academy of hope and High School Students of Despair" and its sequel, "Dangan Ronpa 2: Farewell Despair Academy", into one with higher quality graphics and a few other features added as well. I had been wanting to play through them myself after seeing a play-through online for the two games and their pre-sequel, "Dangan Ronpa another Episode", quite a while back.

Despite this spoiler filled way of doing things, I had been wanting to experience the games for myself to see if I could figure out how to beat the trials faster and better then the person I had only seen struggle through them. As I played though, I couldn't help but wonder something.

"What would make her want to do that?" As I pondered this aloud, I ran my hand though my short brown hair before adjusting my black plastic framed glasses back into place on the bridge of my nose. I let my green eyes wander around with that question on my mind.

Of course the "her" in question was the main antagonist of these games; one Junko Enoshima, the mastermind behind the two games. From the word go you could tell she wasn't all there. Going on and on about despair with an almost perverse glee, the constant switching between personalities at the drop of a hat, the fact that she willingly broke the minds of people around her for her twisted goals; and this was the icing on the preverbal cake. This crazed loon could only enjoy herself when others were either drowning in despair or dying from someone who had given in. Heck, she instigated several events so terrible that the world just went to all sorts of hell in response.

It was said by the creator of the game that she had been basically designed from the ground up as a person who would do such horrible things without remorse, not because of a tragic backstory or any such traumatic experience, but because they just wanted to. But, people are extremely complicated creatures that need a form of reasoning to give them the motivation to act on some things. Even something as simple as breathing has a motive, even if it's just the body's instinctual necessities at work.

And so, I couldn't help but wonder something. What kind of event could drive a person to become such a twisted individual as that? I knew that at one point it was implied that she was raised on the streets at one point and that her twin sister eventually left for a military organization called Fenrir, but that didn't explain where the obsession with despair originated. If anything you'd think that she'd want to get away from such terrible things, but I guess there are some things that can't be easily explained.

My thoughts were interrupted with the clattering of plastic on the floor as the game system fell off my lap in my distracted state of mind. A curse half passed my lips as I quickly went to grab the PS vita to check and see if there had been any damage done to it.

However, as I picked it up a strange sight welcomed me on the screen. Thankfully there weren't any new scratches or, god forbid, cracks on the glass surface, but that wasn't what concerned me the most; though I was thankful for it. What held my attention was the title shown on the device, one that was radically different from the game I'd been playing for the past few hours.

"'Dangan Ronpa: Life of Despair,' what?" I questioned aloud. And why wouldn't I? I had never heard of such a feature being implemented into these games anywhere before now, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I'd be curious to the implications of such a thing going unreported. Then there's the concerning fact that, unlike the title screen of the other two games, this one had noticeable pink splatters all over the text, the characters usually found on the front were missing, and the red bullet chamber that rotated around the 'press start' indicator had what appeared to be a loaded bullet in one of the usually empty chambers.

In hindsight, I should have taken that ominous sight as my first warning to restart to system or even simply turned off the game entirely. After all, pink is the color of the blood in these game that was acting as a sort of implied censor, allowing them to show gruesome murders to investigate, without the effect of the more disturbing qualities and implications of actual blood.

And then there was the bullet. A common feature of these games were the 'truth bullets', personifications of key words and phrases to help break through lies and misconceptions during the class trials. Normally the chamber was empty so that you could choose from the provided bullets. Yet this one had one slot filled.

In any case, my curiosity won out against my trepidation and I decided to go along with it, hoping it could have something more for the story that had never been seen before. The minor desire that I could brag about finding this feature first didn't hurt either. So, with curiosity inspired glee, I started up the new mode.

Immediately, I was brought to a new screen that showed the pixilated portraits of the entire cast of both games and a line of text appeared asking me to "Choose your life". An Interesting way to bring up a character selection screen, but far from the weirdest I've seen. I assumed that this would actually let me play the game again, only through the eyes of a different member of the cast, an idea I could truly get behind. But as I looked at these, I couldn't help but wonder something.

"Why are Mukuro _and_ Junko on this list?" And it was true, in addition to the younger sibling that perished in the first game while disguised as the other, the mastermind behind it all was also among the list of people who made a showing in either game. But that didn't make much sense, Junko never technically joined in with the others till the final chapter of both games, relaying through the animatronic bear, Monokuma when she was interacting with the students. What possible contributions could playing as her grant?

Now granted, I wasn't originally going to start with her. Any of the others would have been interesting to try out, and I really wanted to see how their mental processing could add to the enjoyment I had interacting with them through the respective protagonist. But that insistent pondering would not let me be, and so I brought the cursor over to the crazy bleached hair girl, and told it to accept.

"Besides," I thought out loud, "if I don't like it I can always just start over. Right?" Famous last words.

Immediately after accepting her as my choice, I felt a massive shock of electricity pass through my body quickly and then leaving just as quickly, taking with it my balance and most of my consciousness. As I began to black out though, I could have sworn I heard a voice come from the game as it clattered uselessly next to me.

" _Well_ ," The voice said in a heavily garbled tone that prevented me from telling if it was male or female. " _At least this should make things interesting_." That was the last thing I heard before finally leaving the waking world for what would be the last time. Or at least, the last time in my world.

* * *

You ever find yourself in a situation where the first thing you wake up to is the sensation of falling? I don't mean having a dream revolving around the sensation, I mean, actually waking up to see the world miles below you as if you fell asleep on a plane during a sky diving excursion and only returned to the waking world after leaving the plane. Well, that's kind of what I was experiencing, only without the added benefit of having a parachute to slow my fall. Believe me that was the first thing I checked for after I finished screaming my lungs out.

Unfortunately, it seemed that for some odd reason I had instead been given a new white dress shirt, a pair of black dress pants with matching belt, and a pair of dress shoes; not that that was very important; seeing as I was falling at near terminal velocity towards the ground at the moment, though it was appreciated.

As I fell I couldn't help but wonder what I'd done to deserve this of all things. I had never been a bad person, even if I would never have called myself a saint. I had decent grades, maybe not the best but never truly near failing. I had been nice for the most part, even though there were plenty of times I would let my emotions get the better of me. I was mostly charitable with my money, though my hoarding of various items could be, seen as, a bit unhealthy.

Bottom line, while I could be very good or bad most of the time, I was for the most part in the Neutral good standing. I could be better, but I could also have been far worst. It all depended on the situation. Though this sort of thing, however, seems like something reserved for a person who was at least neutral evil.

Shaking my head to remove the mental cobwebs, I quickly dragged forth what knowledge I had about falling and air resistance and then did my best to level myself in a way to both slow my fall and to, with any luck, allow myself to be able to angle my descent towards something soft. Immediately though that plan briefly left my mind as I took in the sight of where exactly I was heading.

Hope's Peak Academy. I didn't even have to think about it being a building, that just so happened to look similar, to the place. Even with the fact that I may not have the best of memory retention, I'd be a fool not to notice the massive plate showing their coat of arms with the name pasted right into the framework, the massive bolts on either side holding it on to the top of the oversized school building. There was no mistaking it anyway you look at it.

Lost in my questions of just how this was possible or what this could mean, I had honestly almost forgotten about my original predicament. Snapping back my focus on the quickly approaching ground, I tried to angle myself towards a grouping of trees in the hope of breaking my fall. I knew it would hurt a hell of a lot to fall through the many branches that made up a majority of the tree, despite what the deceptively cushy pounds of leaves covering them would imply, and that there was an astronomically high chance of at least one case of wood to flesh impalement. But compared to the much higher chance of outright fatality of slamming into the pavement at my speed, I was willing to just take that chance.

Sadly, I had made my attempt just too late to reach the massive fauna, so with a feeling of resentment for what I was about to attempt, I aimed for the next best thing. Just below me was a person with their strawberry blond hair styled up in a pair of high ponytails that seemed a bit familiar to me in a bad way. I didn't have nearly enough time to properly warn them, nor did I feel particularly excited for the knowledge that I would likely end up taking them to an early grave alongside myself, but it couldn't be helped. So, with the last few moments I would likely have, I decided something.

"Somebody stupid get in my way!" I cried at my unwanted and unwilling target. If was going down, it'll be on a joke. Granted, by the completely shocked look on her face as it snapped up towards me and the confused gasp that escaped past her lips, I'm fairly certain she didn't appreciate my sudden arrival or reference. Everyone's a critic.

Regardless, the tastes of this poor girl, or the lack there of, were ultimately irrelevant. For the second that she realized what was about to happen, my body slammed into hers with a powerful impact that caused us to crash into the cold, unforgiving ground. Several sounds reminiscent of snapping bones and pained gasps of air being forcibly expelled from crushed lungs rang forth as a veritable rainbow of pain blossomed and racked our bodies. I was unsure seeing as my eyes had slammed shut on impact, but I was fairly convinced that there was a fair amount of blood around us both considering the moist feeling that had quickly developed on my head and cheeks.

As the pain quickly overwhelmed my senses and I agonizingly slowly began to lose the battle to remain awake, I could only barely recall shouts of the standard "Are you okay!?" screams of panic, and at least one cry for someone to call a hospital. I would have probably appreciated the attempt more if it hadn't been overshadowed by the unyielding agony. As it is, the only thing I was thankful for at the time was my mind falling into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

It is a widely-believed fact that the person who invented the alarm part of the alarm clock was ether a masochist who enjoyed waking to the insufferable ringing that could drive a man mad if given enough time, or they were a sadist who thought others would appreciate the sounds of torment that could raise the dead. I personally fall into the later belief, considering the insistent beeping of a default battery clock that was doing it's hardest to wake me up whilst also driving both my sanity and temper out of the window.

"If I wasn't sure I was alive," I growled, my voice scratchy from dehydration from likely sleeping with my mouth open…again. "I'd swear I'd died and gone to hell." Raising my head up from a surprisingly soft pillow, I slowly opened my eyes to view my surroundings. Immediately, several alarms when off in my head as several facts came to light.

The first of which was the room I was in. it was a small room barely large enough to hold the single person twin size bed and the overly large closet that was across from me as well as the other bits of furniture around the room. On one side of the room was a dresser with a mirror with a noticeable amount of makeup and cosmetic supplies lined up carefully on it, as well as several strangely familiar bows and ribbons of various shades. Strangely, there was a filing cabinet on one side of the room filled to near bursting with papers and files, though the contents of them I wouldn't learn till later. Most noticeable of all though was the fact that instead of an actual door, there was a ladder in the center of the room that climbed straight up to the ceiling where what looked like a metal hatch led out of the room.

The second of these alarms was from the fact that, I was alive. Not only alive, but aside from a mild headache I was perfectly fine. Yes, you would think this would have been my first concern considering that the last thing that I recalled was crushing a person into the ground at terminal velocity. In all accounts, I _should_ be ether dead, dying, or at the very least in massive amounts of agony. But no, I was alive and well, which should have been far more concerning then the décor.

I guess I'm just weird like that.

The third thing that concerned me the most, was my vision. See, I've been slightly nearsighted for a few years now and while I can see well enough to make out some details, I can't read anything farther than ten feet away; kind of a problem when you're driving and you can't read the signs. Now though, my sight was crystal clear, to the point where I could make out the grain in the wooden body and frame of the wardrobe across the room without a problem. Which, in itself was a problem; handy maybe since it meant I no longer needed to be wearing glasses anymore, but a problem nonetheless.

Glancing down slowly, I hesitantly raised my hands into my view, and was immediately taken aback by what I saw. Instead of the hands belonging to one of the male demographic that I am quite use to seeing, a pair of pale, slender, and most of all _feminine_ fingers with well-manicured nails had replaced them. My arms, no longer slightly toned from years of heavy lifting and moderate fighting were thin and nearly hairless. I was ready to panic. My eyes snapped over to the dresser and the mirror mounted to it as a single desire forced its way to the forefront of my mind.

I needed to see myself.

Quickly throwing off the blankets, I attempted to rush over to the mirror, only to get one of my feet caught up on the edge of the sheets in my haste and falling on my face with a very high pitch yelp. Down, but certainly not out, I angrily kicked off my clingy offender and scrambled over to the mirror. I ended up knocking a few bottles and containers over when I grabbed the edge as I nearly slid past, but that was ultimately swept from my mind as I was far more concerned with the person staring back at me through the reflective surface with growing horror plastered on their face.

Staring back at me through the glass was a tall woman, roughly six and a half feet tall, with an hourglass like figure covered by a rather lose black V-neck tee-shirt barely covering the black-and-red bra cupping her…generous assets. She wore no pants, just a matching set of panties that showed off her legs, and had I been able to see below her thighs, I would have bared witness to a pair of white knee socks covering her feet. Her heart shaped face would have probably been something I would call cute, if it wasn't looking so horrified, at the moment, and her thick, strawberry blond hair that reached down to her knees would be something I would consider impressive, if it wasn't currently disheveled from sleep.

For a moment, I was confused about her ruby red eyes that stared into my own, but upon catching sight of a case for some form of contact lenses out of the bottom of my peripheral vision I quickly put the pieces together. 'Colored contacts.' I believe they were called, made for disguises or, in this case, faking your eye color.

But that wasn't my main concern. No, the fact of the matter was that, I was someone else now. This was a body I didn't want to be associated with, a face that didn't belong with my mind behind it. I couldn't stop my next reaction. There was too much happening at once and my mind simply couldn't keep up. With widened eyes, and expanding mouth I followed through with the only action I could.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I screamed.


	3. Become Despair

My skinny hand meets my face with a slap as I tried to wake myself from the nightmare that I had found myself in. Of course, it couldn't be that easy, and now I had a red hand shaped mark on my pale face. Judging by the stinging sensation now on my cheek and the fact that the girl in my mirror had not in fact disappeared, I think it was safe to say that this was me now. I was officially the worst woman in the world to be. No matter how much I wanted it to be that I was just unconscious and having a bad dream brought on from eating something I shouldn't have before bed, I couldn't.

"I'm Junko now." I said, cringing at the implications of the statement and at the strangely pleasant sounding voice I now possessed. I had become one of the most insane, demented, and twisted of individuals that had ever walked the earth. The "Ultimate Despair", a person so sick in the head that she could spread her sickness to countless others in less than a year and, drove the world into a state of suffering that was slowly killing itself through ignorance; like trying to remove the poisoned barbs implanted it its skin without thinking of removing the poison itself.

My hands came back to my face, palming my cheeks as I glared at my reflection.

"Out of all the people I could have chosen," I growled at the person in the glass, wanting nothing more than to strangle this person. No. This monster in human skin. "I just HAD to pick you. Didn't I? I couldn't have picked the solider, the luckster, or heck, anyone else. _No_ , I had to pick _you_."

Sighing in resigned disgust, I grabbed a brush from the stand in front of me, and began the work on the tangled mess that was my hair. As much as I hated the situation I'd found myself in, I knew panicking wouldn't help me, so I would have to accept it. At least, for now.

As I pulled on a particularly stubborn knot of hair, I continued to let my mind wonder. If I was now Junko, then did that mean that this was before, or after the Tragedy happened? If it was before, did this mean that I could prevent it from happening? And if it was after the fact, could I prevent the mutual life of killing that happens later? Could I…

My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden revival of the irritant that was the alarm going off again, reminding me that I had not turned the demon clock off from the first time and let it go to sleep; and it was rising again to torment me with its existence. My unyielding rage reignited, I quickly found the source of my rekindled fury at the top of the headboard of the bed I had been sleeping in not too long ago. Fire in my eyes, I threw myself across the room at the infernal device, grabbing it in my elegant hands with a furious crushing grip.

Then I proceeded to calmly flick the switch on the top to off.

What? You thought I was going to smash it? Please, as infuriating as it is to have, the clock has a purpose after all. To destroy it for doing its job would be a terrible waste. That didn't stop me from tossing the blasted thing onto the bed roughly with a sense of sick satisfaction. Glancing at the time on it did raise an eyebrow though.

"What kind of sadist sets an alarm for six in the morning?" I asked, my brow twitching. Shaking it off as a quirk of Junko's…myself. Whatever. I decided that I wouldn't be getting answers in my underwear, and made for the wardrobe and pulled open the doors.

I'll admit, considering the fact, that Junko was originally known as the Ultimate Fashionista, I was curious as to what kind of wardrobe she would have kept after leaving the world of glamour and fashion for a life in high school. What kind of fabulous designs would she have found worthy enough to bring along as a keepsake to remember the good times.

So, you can imagine my disappointment when all I found were four different outfits in there.

There was her usual outfit of a black cardigan with a red bow pinned to where a person's heart would be, hung with a white dress shirt, a red miniskirt, and a long tie that was both equal parts black and white, with a red "X" in a circle at the point where the colors met. The other hanger had a uniform consisting of an unbuttoned dark grey cardigan on top of a white blouse with a red ribbon. This cardigan, however, also had the logo of Hope's Peak Academy emblazoned on it, so I assumed it was her school uniform. The next was a white coat with a matching tie and ear muffs with a long pink scarf hanging on the shoulder.

There were also a pair of black knee-high boots with red laces crisscrossing up the front, a simple pair of brown slip-on shoes, and some white boots with a fuzzy trim under each respective outfit.

The final outfit was the most surprising though, as it was a light blue hoodie and track pants with a white stripe down the side of each leg and sleeve. It was surprising since the other outfits, while somewhat simple, all looked rather expensive by comparison. This wasn't something you would think of being in here with a person holding the title of "Ultimate Fashionista".

Confused, but ultimately unconcerned I went to grab the first outfit, when something stopped me. Did I _really_ want to be seen wearing this if I was in fact the bringer of despair that caused untold pain and suffering? If someone recognized me in it, would I be attacked or revered? Could I take that risk?

Shaking my head briefly as I momentarily wondered what that line of questions came from, I decided to take the hoodie and pants. I wasn't overly concerned with whether someone would recognize me, more so I just didn't want to wear them. That was it.

Anyway, slipping the afore mentioned clothes on and grabbing the shoes on a whim, I closed the doors of the wardrobe and moved to the dresser again to begin the task of finding a fresh pair of socks.

"Gah! The hell!" I shouted upon seeing the contents of said dresser. Of course, when the first drawer has a creepy mask in it you'd scream too. Upset, I picked it up to get a good look at it.

It was quite like a luchador's mask in that it covered the head completely and tied in the back. The eyes were massive and covered by a very thin cloth that allowed the wearer to see out, but prevented others from seeing them unless face to face. There was also an absurdly large grin on it that literally stretched from ear to ear, and was far too shark-like for my liking. Both of those eyes were lined with yellow flame design, and in the center of the forehead was a jagged red eye.

I recognized this mask; and, why wouldn't I? It was an important part of chapter five in the first game and it was the same mask that Junko used when she made an attempt on the protagonist, Mokoto Naegi's life when he was sick in bed. The white trench coat that went with it had also been neatly folded up just underneath it.

Placing it back with just a bit more force than absolutely necessary, I was about to slam the drawer shut when I noticed something. Hidden just under the coat was something I really didn't want to see. A long knife, one built with combat in mind. It was about a foot long and curved to a point, and while the other half was mostly smooth, there were a series of sharpened edged notches near the base. It was almost like a duel edge in a way and guaranteed that if you survived the initial stab, the removal would be far from clean.

Shivering from that dark thought, I quickly replaced the items back in the drawer before moving to the second one. Thankfully, this one carried several neatly arranged pairs of socks and undergarments, both top and bottom. As I grabbed a fresh pair of white socks from the pile, I also noticed that a few of them had a small white or black cartoon bear's head stitched in the seam.

"I'd say, 'that's kind of cute'," I commented in a monotone voice, "but I know that bear, and that just makes it creepy." Wisely deciding to move on and forget I had ever seen that, I quickly swapped out my socks, slipped on the brown shoes, and proceeded to the ladder.

Climbing up and pushing open the hatch, I wasn't that surprised that I had entered another room, but I was shocked at which room, in particular, I was in. On one side of the room was a control console with several monitors and controls all over. The most important part was the massive keyboard that held dozens of keys and buttons and it was so large that they had to split it into three sections and run it in a quarter-circle around the large rotating chair mounted to the ground. This was the control room for a certain animatronic black and white bear that had plagued Hope's Peak during the events of the first game.

"Least I know I'm in the school now." I muttered as I finished climbing up the ladder, before closing the hatch behind me.

Not feeling especially up to messing with such an elaborate set up, I was about to walk out of the door when I noticed something out of place. Sitting on the table was what appeared to be a leather-back note book filed with several sticky notes and a red ribbon poking out as a bookmark. Normally, I might have ignored the thing as unimportant, but there was what appeared to be a name written on the front that immediately raised an alarm in my head.

Yasuke Matsuda. Now, I hadn't been able to read the novel "Dangan Ronpa/Zero" myself, so there might have been some things I'm missing out on, but what I did know about him was interesting to say the least. His mother had had some unspecified disease that caused her to forget people every few minutes till it eventually killed her and he had been the childhood friend and eventual love interest of Junko. He was given the title "Ultimate Neurologist" and apparently was a master at the field of neurology. He was also supposedly responsible for the creation of the device that erased the memories of the class number 78, including at one point, Junko herself.

"If anyone can explain what's happening," I muttered to myself with growing realization. "It's him…hopefully."

Despite the strange feeling of disgust momentarily showing up at the last word for some reason, I refused to question it as I sat down in the chair and began flipping through the pages.

* * *

In another part of the school, another person began to stir.

Washed-out Hazel eyes fluttered open as the boy they belonged to, raised his head off of the desk he'd been sleeping on, wondering out loud where he was and how did he get there. His body felt heavy and his neck was stiff from the awkward sleeping position. Brushing his spiky, desaturated brown hair out of his line of sight, he glanced around at the room he'd found himself in.

At first glance it would appear to be a simple classroom considering the lines of school desks facing a table and a chalkboard. Nothing truly amazing even with the chalk pictures and a big "WELCOME" on the board, but then he noticed several things that were... Off. For starters, there was a rather advanced looking surveillance camera and mic-piece mounted on the ceiling in the corner of the room, and if he had to guess from the rotating arm mount it could move and rotate at least a bit to view most every part of the room. There was also a monitor over a bulletin board on the other side of the room next to the door.

The thing that was truly bazaar to him, however, was where the windows were supposed be for the students to get some natural light and vitamin C. Instead, massive metal plates were held into the walls with a variety of different sized nuts and bolts and covered these portals to the outside world, leaving the fluorescent bulbs as the only source of lighting available.

"What the heck is going on?" he asked the open air, mildly hoping someone would answer him, but to no avail. He was alone in this strange room, and wouldn't receive an answer sitting on his black jeans covered butt.

Standing up and straightening out his dull green hoodie that had a red stripe running down the zipper and his open black jacket with a pin shaped like a four-pointed star overlaying a crescent moon on the left lapel, he noticed a paper pamphlet laying on the ground next to his red sneakers.

'I must have knocked it off the desk in my sleep.' He thought, picking up the paper he was rather confused to find that the contents of the sheet were a poorly hand written thing welcoming him to the new semester.

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" he wondered, growing more confused by the minute. Glancing up at the clock he noticed hanging over the chalkboard, he realized that it was almost eight o' clock, the time for the school orientation. If this classroom did in fact belong to Hope's Peak Academy, then he needed to go before he was too late and missed his first day.

Deciding not to waste any more time then he already had, Makoto Naegi put the pamphlet on the desk and proceeded for the door, hoping to get some answers soon.

* * *

I won't lie and say I understood most of what he wrote down in a majority of the book. I say this because the man apparently suffered from both horrible penmanship, and occasional spelling errors. Surprising, considering the fact, that he had convinced an amnesiac Junko with a notebook that she was someone else, but thankfully there were a few pages that were a bit neater near the middle, and they were fortunately even about somethings involving Junko.

The page I was most concerned with read as such.

" _That blasted girl has really got to pay more attention. This morning I was walking to the school, just minding my business when I heard someone shouting about 'someone stupid getting in the way' or something like that and then some girl's shout. I_ _ **really**_ _just wanted to just ignore it, but of course my damn sense of honor or something kicked in and I went to check it out._

 _Surprise, surprise, it turned out to be another mess involving Junko. Of course, this time it seemed that some idiot fell off the school or something and crashed into her. Obviously, I called for help and dragged them both to the nurse's office._

' _Bout an hour later I got a report from that ugly nurse Junko's been hanging out with lately, and things were pretty bad. The boy wasn't going to last, even with her help. Several lacerations, multiple signs of broken vertebrae, five cracked ribs, one of which had punctured a lung, dislocated shoulder, and bruising or bursting of several vital organs. Yeah, the kid was good as dead._

 _At first it seemed Junko got off easy by comparison. Only thing she could find wrong with her was a bit of bruising on her back and ribs, some dislocation of her right hip, and some fractures on her skull. Of course, then I got to her and noticed something that idiot missed._

 _Apparently, some bits of her skull had come loose and gave her some nasty hemorrhage in her brain which was slowly killing her. The moron hadn't even considered it. I wanted nothing more than to hit her, and I was very close to doing it. But I needed her help if I was going to save my friend._

 _With a bit of persuading, I was able to convince the headmaster to let us use the operating room. The same one that I had used to help make that monster that they wanted my assistance with before. Getting to her brain wasn't much of a problem, though I know she'll be mad at me for shaving her head for this. Unfortunately, looking at the darn thing made me want to pull my hair out._

 _A good chunk of it had been practically mulched from the impact and bone shards, and while nothing vital was damaged, thank god, I'd never be able to fix what was left without risks I don't want to think about._

 _At least, I couldn't with what was there alone._

 _I'll admit, what I did was a bit of a gambit on my part. There were numerous risks and factors that I was unable to consider in the heat of the moment, such as conflicting blood types, hormonal imbalances caused from placing parts of his brain in hers, and the like. But the guy was responsible for this, and I felt that he should help pay her back in some way. 'Sides, he was good as dead anyway. It's only fair._

 _It took several hours and there were a lot of close calls, but I took out his brain, and carefully replaced the parts of hers with the bits I needed of his. Now all that's left is to see if she'll wake up okay."_

I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that. I had figured that whoever I had fallen on, Junko it would seem, would be hurt, but not in that way. But there were a few things that I was noticeably concerned about over that.

On one hand, I was technically supposed to be dead. I mean, yeah, I was alive and was Junko now, but I had been dead for at least one or two years. This was judging by the fact that he had mentioned shaving her head to perform surgery, yet I had an overabundance of hair and had no sight of a scar anywhere from such an endeavor. What was worst though was that, they didn't even try to save me. Like my existence meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Existential crises aside, on the other hand I was Junko in what I can only assume was the beginning of the first game. That meant that, I had control over the situation of the class of 78 and their "life of mutual killing". Heck, I could stop the game and the "mutual killing" part from even happening right here, right now.

I addition, as the "Ultimate Despair" I had supposedly had dozens to hundreds of people at my beck and call should I tell them whatever I wanted was in the name of bringing others despair. Most if not all of them would bent themselves over backwards or even end their own lives, just to keep me entertained. The thought was incredibly chilling yet, empowering.

But I was curious. If I died then, why was I in control now and not when she had recovered? Why did I take so long to come into being, and where did she go? Was this permanent, or did I have to worry about her influence popping up to give me static in the future?

I had more questions than answers and the only hope I had to answer them was in a poorly held together book made by a neurologist that, in a sense, killed me. Quaint.

Flipping through the pages and reading though the ones I could, I couldn't help but notice the ribbon that was used as in impromptu bookmark. It seemed so out of place compared to how he wrote and acted, it couldn't help but call to my attention. Deciding I could find out more later, I turned to the page it indicated and proceeded to read.

But, with every word I absorbed I could only feel rage grow and grow, and a single line rose to describe the pure hate this page made me feel. The sheer savage disgust at what it told me, and with the anger quickly bubbling to the surface, I couldn't stop it if I tried.

"Why that no good little BITC-"

* * *

"Attention. Attention. Is this thing on? Mic check. Mic check." A high-pitched voice echoed through the halls of the school, grabbing the attention of the group of fifteen students who had just finished introducing themselves to each other. "This is a test of the school broadcast system. Eh, to all incoming students, if you can hear this please report to the gymnasium post haste for your entrance orientation."

The students glanced at each other with a bit of confusion on their faces. The voice had been so cheerful and unconcerned that it felt completely out of place with the current situation. For some reason, that only seemed to add to a strange feeling of unnerving dread that had settled in more than a few stomachs.

"…That's all." The voice continued, almost sounding tired. "I'll be waiting for you all there." And with that the mic kicked off and the students were left to their own devices once more. For a moment, all was quiet. None of the students moved save for their breathing. Till eventually, one student decided to break this still with a fairly accurate vocalization to the thoughts of her fellows.

"What. The. Hell, was that just now?" Said the strawberry blond teen with blue eyes whose hair was held up into twin ponytails with a red and white bow in her left and a happy bunny head in her right. She wore a black cardigan that was parted just enough to show her black bra, a red miniskirt, had a white tie with red polka-dots all over it, and black shin high boots with red laces.

Her question went unanswered, however, as a tall slim dirty-blond with short hair who wore a pair of white framed glasses over his blue eyes, and had a classic black suit over a white dress shirt and green tie, excused himself from the group and left the others behind.

"H-hey!" the girl called after him, a bit miffed at being ignored. "What, you're gonna take off just like that!?" Unfortunately for her and her rising indignation, her question went ignored. Soon, the others began to leave as well with words of parting, and eventually there were only a few remaining. Eventually, curiosity as well as not wanting to be late and possibly receive word of trouble for being tarty, the remaining few shook off the feeling of trepidation holding them back as best they could and followed the others.

Despite this, the strange feeling of dread refused to leave the hearts of the students, even though most were better at hiding it. However, no matter what method they were trying, lies to themselves or to others, brave fronts of indifference, anger, or otherwise; they couldn't deny the truth. Something was incredibly wrong.

And they were going to be becoming a part of it.


	4. Game of death and Despair

"Hello, hi, shalom, good to see ya, sup, and all that; let's get this thing underway!"

I had to force myself to avoid vomiting at the sickeningly sweet, yet obviously mentally detached voice I'd made myself use into a microphone stand, causing a cartoony half black, half white bear that would serve as my main form of communication to the students to parrot my words in an even higher and twisted tone. I already didn't like the fact that I was even going to be doing this, but hearing that damned bear copies copy me with a noticeable lag between our speaking times was going to just drive those feelings though the roof. You'd think the response time would have been at least a little bit more immediate considering who built it, but I guess such small mercies aren't going to be a thing here.

I watched the looks of disbelief and confusion spread across the faces of the fifteen students that I'd have to live with for the imminent future with a feeling of trepidation. Of these fifteen people, I knew several of them would not be helpful in what I wanted to happen, verses what would be coming soon. Some of them would be even more than a little bit of a problem for both me and the others. Though, considering what I was being forced into and in exchange forcing them into, I felt that for now it was fine in its own way.

"Huh?" One of the students asked, interrupting my train of thought. "A…Teddy bear?"

Now, there were a lot of things I could tolerate in this world, and I can fully understand the confusion they had. At first glance, you'd be forgiven for the mistake, the Harvey Dent rip-off, plush-like bear would seem to be like any old child's plaything to the casual observer. But, for someone like me who knew of the horror this so-called toy caused on a regular basis to actually hear the comparison of such a harmless toy to the advanced, deadly automaton I was using caused an unexplainable twitch to go off in my left eyebrow.

"I am _not_ a teddy bear. And no, I am also not a high tech, build-a-bear reject and I'll thank you not to make that mistake." I said in a monotone, despite the slight bit of irony of using such a tone with a mono-colored bear would be. I couldn't help that the person who designed it had a sick sense of humor.

"I…am…Monokuma!" I continued, "And I am the Headmaster of this school."

Confused mutters broke out amongst them, and for good reason. A black and white toy with a jagged, red eye showed up on your first day of high school while claiming to be the head of a school? If you weren't a child or were speaking to one, then such a statement would have probably either landed you in the nut house or getting laughed out of the building. As they were muttering, I took the chance to assess them all with what I could remember of them.

First, there was Sayaka Maizono – the "Ultimate Pop Sensation" who was the most popular idol and lead singer of an all-girl group, of whom she cared greatly for as her closest and dearest of friends. Currently, she was dressed in her blue and white sailor school uniform with its big pink bow on the front. She was wearing two pink hairclips on in side of her head that held her long almost navy blue locks out of her equally blue eyes. It was likely out of nervous habit that she held both of her hands balled up in front of her in an almost protective manner.

She was also the instigator that had started the first attempt at escape during the killing game. Unfortunately for her, her recklessness of choice backfired on her in one of the highest degrees, as in an almost ironic twist, her own life was taken with the exact same weapon she was planning to use on her would-be victim.

Just beyond her was the "Ultimate Fashionista", Junko Enoshima. a A fashion model whose face had become the focus on the cover of dozens of magazines and had reached fame the world over for being one of few people who was both beautiful and still, quote, 'didn't look fake' ironically enough. Even now, with her cardigan, red dotted tie, shortened miniskirt and various cutesy accessories, she was a sight to behold; despite the look of stress pasted on her face and the small assortment of freckles running across the bridge of her nose.

Of course, as I am the actual Junko right now, that meant that this 'Junko' was actually her twin sister Mukuro Ikusaba; the "Ultimate Soldier". From what I could guess, she had taken Junko's place in the game from the very start and was regrettably the second student killed. In her case, it was for 'insubordination' by breaking the rules; despite the fact that it was supposed to be faked, before Junko changed her mind.

I guess that, in a way, this makes her my sister now. While that was nice since I'd never had an elder sibling, let alone a twin, it was also a problem for me since she would be the most likely one to notice if her 'precious sister' started acting too out of character. I would have to be on my guard around her, that's for sure.

Well, more so then usual.

Near to her was the "Ultimate Baseball Star" with his spiky hair and goatee, dyed red to match his believed personality. One of the best baseball players in Japan, he was surprisingly spiteful of the sport and was insistent on becoming a musician. He'd even started dressing the part with heavy accessories, several piercings in his ears, brow, and lip, a white shirt with a red grunge skull design, and jacket with a popped collar.

This was Leon Kuwata and he had currently broken out into a cold sweat while asking for whoever was in charge to cut the joke. He was also the first "blackened" having been Sayaka's attempted victim turned murderer.

Standing confused slightly away from them, was the petite form of Chihiro Fujisaki, the "Ultimate Programmer" and the one who foolishly called the sicko bear a teddy. Frail in features and almost doll like in appearance with short, light-brown hair in a layer style and greenish-brown eyes, she wore her green jacket, white dress shirt and brown skirt with suspenders in a way that did nothing to change the doll analogy. This timid person was considered a master of computers and even designed a self-learning artificial intelligence program all by herself at a younger age.

Also, she was the second victim after accidentally pressing the wrong buttons in Mondo's psyche. Poor thing had only wanted to get stronger so that she could confess her dark secret to the others without feeling guilt, but she had the misfortune to pick one of the worst people to start with first.

On her left was the taller, muscular form of the "Ultimate Bike Gang Leader" Mondo Owada. A terrifying man despite the punch-perm pompadour and purple irises. He was in his signature black jacket with the symbol for "The Crazy Diamonds" on the back in orange, and his white A-shirt was currently straining against his rippling muscles as he tried to restrain the almost never ending well of bubbling fury held in his body.

This one was also the second "blackened", after his greatest secret was threatened to be leaked on the internet along with all of the others. It was just unfortunate Chihiro's poor understanding of this guy's strength of mind and ability to rationalize that got them into such a bad situation where his irrational jealousy for the smaller boy's strength of heart sunk its claws into the biker's mind. The biking fool really needs a few dozen anger management classes, stat.

Sternly, but cautiously glancing around near the front of if the group was Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the "Ultimate Moral Compass", who was carefully observing my Monokuma unit and the others with his ruby eyes. With his pure white uniform with several golden buttons on the chest and sleeves, even if I hadn't already known who he was, I could tell that this was a guy whose dedication to the rules was borderline obsessive, his trust in the education system was overwhelming, and his faith in all that they stood for was almost saintly. This is especially true when you consider that there wasn't many out there that could keep their uniform as clean and fresh as his, which to the untrained eye looked brand spanking new.

Seriously, have you tried to keep a teenager's white uniform stain-free for weeks on end? It's freaking impossible even for normal uniforms; you can just forget about white ones.

It should be mentioned that, he had at one point during the game gone insane. Believing himself to be possessed by the spirit of his 'bro', he somehow gained, what I can only best describe as an insanity driven, super form state. Don't ask how he did, not even I know beyond what I could guess. But then his constantly aggravating actions were eventually turned against him, resulting in him getting clubbed in the head by the third round. one.

Beyond him was the "Ultimate Fanfic Creator" Hifumi Yamada. A rather overweight boy with black hair with a pointed ahoge, this squirrelly faced teen was able to sell ten thousand copies of his work during a culture festival. Despite his infamy among his fan base, he is on record for consistently claiming that he had only interest in the 2D world and the women within them, and having no interest in the real 3D world or it's females.

It was just as well. With his already mentioned obese shape combined with his round, black framed glasses, his orange backpack and tie with a blue arrow designed on it designed to point up at his face, his white shirt, and gray cardigan and pants, he wasn't impressing anyone with his looks anytime soon.

Not far from him was a pale skinned woman dressed in a Gothic Lolita dress who carried the title of "Ultimate Gambler" and who called herself Celestia Ludenbuerg. In reality, her name was Taeko Yasuhiro, a girl who thought of her old self as one you would call 'a loser', resulting in this cold acting façade she was currently using. She was slowly twirling one of her massive, twin-drill styled pigtails around with one of her painted black nails as her calculating red eyes scanned Monokuma with a concealed gleam that I really didn't like aimed at me.

She was also the third "blackened" after tricking poor Hifumi into helping her end the life of another student, and then turning around and fatally bopping him on the head afterwards.

Standing next to one of the other female students in a seemingly instinctual protective fashion was Sakura Ogami, the "Ultimate Marital Artist". You'd be forgiven for mistaking the extremely muscular person with the reddish skin, long white hair and a fierce appearance as a guy, but the fact was, this was in fact the brutally strong woman in a white sailor school uniform and blue skirt that was an international champion with an absurd win rate of four-hundred straight victories in a row.

It should be mentioned that this was also the woman several people called the "Ogre" due to her unbelievably masculine appearance, deep voice, and obscenely large muscles. Apparently, at one point she used to be a lot more streamlined and feminine but this changed after she couldn't defeat the man who became her boyfriend, and she decided to bulk up as a result.

Despite this, she was also a very honorable and generally well-mannered woman who would always push herself to untold limits just to help others and was revered the world over for it.

It was too bad her honor had been turned against her, which eventually drove her to become both the fourth blackened, _and_ victim. I wish I could make a joke about that, but I am nether the kind of person who would make such jests and because I don't think it would be in good taste.

Averting my eyes from the fierce looking woman brought my attention to the nervous girl hiding slightly behind the fem-tank, Aoi Asahina the "Ultimate Swimmer" and the first of the survivors. Normally a great bundle of joy and cheer, this blue eyed, tanned skin beauty with brown hair held in a gravity defying ponytail was currently shaking in her athletic shorts, white tee shirt, and red track suit jacket with fear. At the same time though, she wore a stilted smile as she tried to keep a positive demeanor, despite of the surreal situation.

Trying to fade into the background just behind them was among one of my favorite characters, Toko Fukawa, the "Ultimate Writing Prodigy" whose best-selling romantic novels were humongous hits, despite her still being in high school; so much so that she apparently only needs to put on the cover that she wrote it to make it a best seller. Her dark purple sailor school uniform, long hair held in two messy braids and shifting eyes only made her pale skin seem to pop out more to those who cared to look. Ironic since it was a lesser-known fact that she tended to try and avoid others as much as possible.

She was also the only one to naturally earn a second moniker, this one known as the "Ultimate Murderous Fiend" solely due to a condition she suffered from. See, due to the mental abuse and maltreatment by her mothers and father and a terrible school life, she ended up developing a split personality. That personality also just so happened to enjoy crucifying pretty boys with razor sharp scissors and then carving the number of her victims into her upper thighs. I only wish I was joking about that.

And no, that was not a typo. She has two mothers.

Not too far from Toko, I saw another one of their fellow classmates' scratching the side of his head with a dull look on his face, completely lost to reality in favor of his own little world of denial. This was Yasuhiro Hagakure, the "Ultimate Clairvoyant" and fortune teller with a whole thirty percent chance of actually getting your future correct. He was also known for his insanely large and spiky styled brown hair, and commonly wearing of three shirts; of a yellow tee, open white rough, and green uniform jacket. He'd also been held back several times, making him by far the oldest of the group.

He also had a major debt with a mob. Let's just say, he was not good with money.

Looking over his shoulder, I momentarily caught the practically eternal haughty glare of the black suited blond, Byakuya Togami, "Ultimate Affluent Progeny" and heir to the Togami Corporation. If you ask me, it was obvious that he'd been groomed into his position and that this grooming had warped his views a bit. He cared little for others and did not see them as people, so much as he saw them as possible assets or even tools that he could use. Not even his own family was exempt from this thought process.

Personally, this jerk was the only one I and many others actually wished would kick the bucket. He may have gotten better overtime, but he never lost that irritating attitude that made me and hundreds of other people want to beat his teeth in. I guarantee, if I have to listen to his holier than thou attitude up close, I'll be flipping him over my shoulders.

Standing in the far -off corner of the group was the albino haired, Kyoko Kirigiri. This mysterious woman dressed in purple suit, skirt, gloves, and lighter colored blouse had been relatively quiet since the beginning, not giving up anything more than her name unlike like the others; much to their chagrin.

Of course, she couldn't exactly help it since, unlike the others, she had lost a majority of her memories, not just the last two years; to the point where she couldn't even recall her talent at all. Of course, the old Junko had to do this considering what her talent as an "Ultimate Detective", and how that, if she had in fact still possessed her memories it would have ruined the 'game' at every turn; even if it didn't make it right.

I mean it, if Kyoko had her memories from the start, she would have been able to make everything fall on its face from the word go. Her father was the one who built this school, which possibly allowed her to have previous access to the buildings floor plans, so the Monokuma vents, which were actually escape vents for the students in case of hostile emergency, would have been compromised by her instantly. She likely knew the place inside and out and would have kept all of the mystery and suspense dead on arrival. Without her memories, she was forced to be cautious and not help the others as much as she would have otherwise.

And finally, there was the "Ultimate Luckster", the completely normal and unexceptional Makoto himself. Unlike the others who had gotten in to Hope's Peak with their various abilities, he had managed to get in through the hope lottery which randomly picks a student once a year to join the current class of that year. What was interesting was apparently he had gotten it after an extremely lucky crook who had originally gotten the invite made the mistake of trying to rob him and lost their invite as a result of Makoto's bad luck overriding their own. The headmaster actually redid the lottery afterwards and Makoto got in from it.

As I was studying them, I made sure not to forget my role here; despite how much it pained me to do so. I purposely ignored the larger, much rounder student panicking about the bear talking as I continued my spiel.

"Now then, moving on!" I said, in a bit of a rush to get this metaphorical train wreck rolling. "We really must hurry and get started." Standing the bear up, I proceeded with the ridiculous routine that would continue to simultaneously irritate, yet strangely amuse me for some time to come.

"Everyone," I said, mocking authority layered in my tone. "Stand at attention and bow! Good morning students!" Honestly, it wouldn't have been so funny if I didn't know at least one of them would respond.

"Good Morning!" loudly called Kiyotaka in an enthusiastic response, and I had to briefly turn off the mic to keep the other students from hearing my muffled laughter. I seriously wondered what kind of weirdo would actually respond to that coming from a plushy. Honestly, I was tempted to just randomly say the phrase over the mic during the day to see if he'd stop and repeat it every time.

"Now then," I said after getting my chuckles under control. "Let us continue with our memorable entrance ceremony!"

Glancing around at them once more to make sure they were paying attention, I began the introduction with, "First, let's talk about what your school life here will be like. As you probably know, you students are all representatives of the world's hope."

I paused to see if they understood the ramifications of what I had said and was thankful that at least a majority of them either nodded in understanding, or gave me a look that told me they already knew about it. The few that didn't took a moment to think about it, but quickly gained a similar look themselves.

"Now," I continued. "In order to protect that hope, you all will be allowed to live a harmonious communal life together within the confines of this school, while also adhering to the rules and regulations given." Seeing the look of confusion on a few faces, I decided to preemptively answer the unspoken question gnawing at their minds.

"Now, regarding the time limit of this school life; there technically isn't one! You'll be here for the rest of your lives! Such is the school life you've been assigned." I dropped the bomb on them, and after a few seconds for them to take it in and to register what I'd said, I quickly interrupted the inevitable string of questions I knew were coming.

"Oh, but don't worry about it too much." I said in a nonchalant tone. "We have quite an abundant budget so you won't have to worry about your common conveniences." As I said this, Sayaka brought up the fact that it was among the least of their concerns. To be fair, she wasn't wrong. At the moment, they were in a rather unusual situation outside of their control and soon things would become far worse before they became better.

"Yeah, what the hell?" 'Junko' interjected, rather rudely. "You're saying that we have to stay here forever? You're screwing with us, right?" I don't really know why, but seeing her act like this really upset me. Maybe it was because she was acting as my stand-in, so if the others ever met me, these kinds of things would be what they'd expect. Or maybe it was because this was honestly how she thought Junko acted. Either way, it ticked me off a bit.

"I am not, as you said, 'screwing with you' miss!" I loudly reprimanded her, and I wish I could have felt a bit of satisfaction had she jumped back, but sadly she held her ground without so much of a flinch. Either way, I took a breath as I cooled down. I still regrettably had to drop another thing on them.

"By the way, you should probably know that you're completely cut off from the outside world." If I didn't already have their attention before, I certainly had it now.

"Cut off…?" Makoto asked, concerned about what that meant. "So all those metal plates over the windows, they're there to keep us trapped here?"

"Pretty much. It's also why your phones have been removed from your persons. We don't need that kind of distraction in a school environment after all. And besides, even if you had been allowed to keep your phones, they wouldn't work in here." I said, partially truthful. Technically, they were put in place to keep the world out of the school, and their phones had been removed to keep them from being harassed by the despair twisted people out there; but in a sense they also kept them trapped inside and prevented them from calling for help. But they didn't need to know that just yet.

"Come on," Leon nervously stated, sweat rolling down his face. "What the hell is this? I don't care if this is a joke by the school, or whoever, it's a bad one."

"Yeah!" Agreed Mondo, angrily, his right hand grasping at empty air like he was squishing an imaginary stress ball in his grasp. "Cut this shit out, because it isn't funny anymore!"

I leaned back in my seat in slight disbelief. "Unbelievable. I tell them the truth and they still won't believe me." Though when I stop to think about it, I guess I could kind of believe it. Be honest, if you had woken up in a locked down building and were told by what in all appearances was a toy that you were going to be living there for the rest of your life with a bunch of strangers, would you have believed it yourself? Honestly, I would have laughed at them and called them several… unkind words.

"Eh, well you'll have plenty of time to figure it out on your own time." I said shrugging in an almost uncaring way. Besides, as long as they're still happy and more importantly, alive, I could ignore it. "In any case, you all decided to attend Hope's Peak Academy, and now, before the entrance ceremony has even finished, you guys want to leave."

Now, this was the part I dreaded. The part where I gave them their first out, where I told them the ultimate lie that would set the wheel of fate rolling uncontrollably down a ravine of despair and sin. I wanted to say that this would be easy for me, all things considered, but then I would be lying to more than just these innocent youths. Unfortunately, I couldn't, and I just knew I was going to feel terrible for what I was about to cause.

"Well…" I steeled myself as much as I could, taking a deep breath and forcing myself back into character once more. "There _is_ a way for you to be allowed to leave this school, but you're not gonna like it."

I took a deep breath to stable myself as a brief flash of hopefulness flew though their eyes, a few asking what it was. I continued, "As your headmaster, I've come up with a special clause for those that would like to leave. I call it…The Graduation clause."

I had to take a moment to calm myself again. It wasn't every day you tell someone that they would need to become a sinner of one of the highest degree. To tell them that they would need to stain their hands in the life blood of another. To become a monster in human flesh.

"As I mentioned, in order to maintain harmony in this environment, we all rely on a communal life style. We strive to do whatever it takes to keep you all safe, happy, and most importantly, _alive_ in this sanctuary of learning. So, if someone, say one of you guys for example, were to disrupt that harmony then they, and they alone would be allowed to leave. That is the basics of the Graduation clause."

I knew I was rambling a bit as I talked about the dreaded rule, stalling for time as it were, but I _really_ didn't want to do this. To be responsible for…No.

No more stalling. If I didn't do this now it would come back to haunt me…and possibly kill me, but I digress. Hearing Byakuya ask about the disrupting the harmony part, I gave Monokuma's signature laugh and decided to drop the big one.

"Well, if someone were to commit the gravest of sins on another. To stain their souls. To **murder** another of you."

And in seconds the panic began. The students, suddenly concerned more than ever looked ready to either bolt, scream, fight, or a combination of the three. It only got worse as I continued. "The 'how you do it' doesn't matter, if you kill someone then you will get a chance to leave. It's as simple as that. The rest is on you to achieve either the best or worst outcome possible."

A collective chill shot down everyone's spines at the news, myself included.

"Like I said," I continued, uninterrupted. "You guys are the hope of the world, but to see that hope get offed creates a dark shade of despair; there are those out there that just find that so… freaking… Exciting!" I felt so much disgust at myself for saying that; especially since I technically was inhabiting the body of one of those kinds of people.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Shouted Leon, intensely upset about what I'd said. "To kill each other is… that's… It's…"

Seeing as he wasn't going to be finishing anytime soon and his inability to form a complete sentence was driving a pet peeve of mine sky rocketing, I jumped in with, "What about it? No matter how you say it, to kill, is to kill. Do I really need to get a dictionary for you?"

"We know what it means!" Interjected Aoi furiously. "That's not the problem. Why do we have to kill each other!?"

Before I could even answer her, Hifumi jumped in with, "Yeah! Stop blabbthering on with all this nonsense! Just let us go home already!"

In that moment, something briefly clicked wrong in my head. Something about that word he used set off some kind primal hatred in some part of my brain. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but if I had to guess, it must have been something Junko had experienced in the past that had clung on to my side of the brain like a dying parasite. It burned at my very soul, intense and fiery, demanding that I get back at the round boy for _daring_ to utter that word.

Either way, I wasn't happy. Granted, I wasn't happy before, but now it was even stronger.

"…Blabbering?" I said in a deathly whisper, my manicured nails biting into my palms and my teeth grinding from the intense rage flooding my mind. "Blabbering, blabbering, what do you mean blabbering!? Stop blabbering on about blabbering on! You guys just don't seem to get it. 'Let us go, let us go' you keep blabbering the same thing over and over again. Listen closely. This school is your home now. Your life, and your world solely exist here now. Get it through your thick, skulls!"

I caught one of them, Yasuhiro, moving to interject about cutting out 'the act', but I cut off his stupid, forced oblivious moment immediately. "If you want out so bad, fine. That's on your head. Not my problem. I've given you your options, it's your job to pick one and move on. Get it?"

Of course, it couldn't be that easy. The big haired moron just told me to drop the act and, 'reveal the trick already' anyway. Dear god, he even went on about having 'known I was messing with them' from the start.

"How dense _are_ you?" I asked, completely stunned by his complete and utter refusal to read the room. Unfortunately, I wouldn't get my answer as he was rudely shoved aside by the biker so that I had to look Mondo eye to camera eye.

"Alright your asshole!" He shouted in Monokuma's face. "This shit's gotten too far! What kind of sick joke is this!?" Now normally, I would have taken that remark with the roll of my eyes and maybe a sarcastic remark. But now? I was already high strung by two idiots and their remarks, and having to deal with a third was not gonna fly.

"Only joke I see is the guy with a pompadour longer then his dick yelling at an animatronic bear half his height." Well, that turned out to be a mistake on my part. The second I said that, there was sound reminiscent of a bang as Mondo kicked off the ground and grabbed the bear where its neck would be in one hand. Then, in an impressive feat of strength lifted the metal half 'n half bear off the ground.

"Gotcha, you little bastard!" He shouted at the bear, snapping me out of my rage as an alarm went off on the console. "I don't know if you're a toy, or a stuffed animal, or whatever the hell you are. Either way I'm gonna rip you to fuckin' shreds!"

But I wasn't concerned with him or his empty threats, for the most part. No, my attention was mainly on the fact that his shaking Monokuma had activated its failsafe function. See, apparently the Monokuma units that were running though the building had a special C4 grade explosive mounted in their chests that were set to a timer. This timer was connected to a special kinetic motion switch which would only activate when they experienced a sudden jerking movement, and they couldn't be disarmed without a passcode; one of which I didn't know.

"V-violence against the school Headmaster is strictly prohibited!" I shouted out, scared that he would end up getting himself killed. But he wasn't gonna listen.

"Shut the fuck up!" He demanded, his other hand balled up and cocked back, ready to pummel the bear senseless if I didn't agree. "Let me out of here right now, or else I'm gonna…"

*Beep* the timer went off, signaling its activation. Dammit! Thinking quickly, I shouted, panic in my voice, "You just activated my special-trap!"

"Your, what trap?" he demanded, not quite getting what I was talking about. "Stop the goddamn beeping and speak English you damn punk!"

Trying to ignore the slowly increasing tempo of the alarm, I followed up with one of the most ridiculous things I've ever said, just before the audio and camera kicked out. "Initiating the Monokuma, Big Bang Bomb!"

For a moment, it was quiet. Then, I heard a dull boom resonating from the direction of the gymnasium as the bomb went off. On the screen was a loading time as another Monokuma unit was being redirected from where ever they were being stored to replace the destroyed one in the gym with itself, yet my focus was on what might have just happened. In the game, Junko stayed silent after he accidentally activated the bomb, and it was Kyoko who alerted him to it. Because I was the one alerted him this time, I couldn't help but worry that he wouldn't throw it away in time.

As the bar on screen finished loading, I couldn't pop the bear back up on the stage fast enough. I had to see if Mondo was still alive, or… not. As I did though, I caught the tail-end of Chihiro's statement, "…the teddy bear's been destroyed, right?"

"I already told you that I'm not a teddy bear, darn it!" Needless to say, I was not particularly happy about her continued use of an incorrect label for Monokuma. Ignoring Leon's startled remark about there being more bears and seeing that Mondo was still among the living, I let out a sigh of relief.

"You son of a bitch!" He shouted, looking quite terrified at the experience, yet it was currently overshadowed by righteous fury "You seriously tried to kill me just now!."

"To be fair," I stated calmly, trying to defuse the situation. "I _did_ tell you that I was a bomb, and I _did_ warn you that you were breaking the rules. What'd you think was going to happen?"

He balled his fists in anger, but he stayed quiet for the moment since he couldn't refute me. I continued, "Since you didn't know about the rules yet, I guess I can let you off with a warning this time. But, the next time I won't be so lenient! Those that break the rules are garbage that will be dealt with; swiftly and painfully."

"H-Hey," stuttered 'Junko' as she pretended to be as terrified as the others. "Does that mean there are like, a bunch more of you around here?"

Turning to her, I said in an equally fake ecstatic tone, "You got it sister! There are dozens of Monokuma all throughout the school, each one with the same level of defenses as the first. Not to mention, there are, of course, security cameras everywhere. If any of you are caught breaking the rules here… Well, you might wake up to find a Kuma giving you a farewell _hug,_ if you catch my drift."

There was a noticeable twitch on her face when I'd said 'sister', most likely out of concern that I'd blown her cover. Yet, with all of the others the focus seemed to be on the rest of the information and the threat I'd made, so the moment just went over their heads as yet another smart-ass remark. Hopefully.

"That's just…Wrong." Stated Aoi as stunned as the others at my thinly vailed threat, and if I were to be honest, even I was surprised by my own words. I couldn't believe such a terrible thing had come from me, especially with the fact that who I was as a person was far different then this persona I was playing as. The fact that I could keep character like that even though my hands were trembling was a feat in itself.

In a way, it was reminding me of the persona theory involving adopting a personality from wearing a mask. Theoretically, when you wear a mask or outfit you tend to act out the part better than if you were doing it in your casual clothes. It had been proven in several occasions, one of the most notable being from this world with the "Ultimate Impostor", a person who always disguises themselves as other more notable people rather than themselves, and acts just like them almost flawlessly. Their most notable feat being when they dressed up as Byakuya and was able to convince everyone that he was the real thing through personality alone, despite the obvious difference in waistline.

It could be that I was simply acting how I perceived Monokuma would so easily simply because I knew they wouldn't be seeing the real me anytime soon. Of course, I wasn't the kind of sicko to get enjoyment out of the fear I was causing, but I had to play my part.

"Now then," I said continuing to ignore their concerns, for my own sake. "To commemorate your introduction into our school, I've got a gift for each of you."

Pressing a few buttons on the keyboard, a box filled with tablets with a small name tag on the bottom of each arose onto stage from a hydraulic stand, before I made Monokuma push the box closer to the class and started handing them out. "The official school electronic handbooks, E-handbook for short. These devices are your passport to this school, your main access to the facilities here, and it also has your school regulations in it. Once you have yours, don't lose it, and while I doubt you will, don't go trying to break it either; you only get the one. Once they start up they will display your name so that if your tag is removed you always know who it belongs to."

Seeing as they all had their handbooks, and that more than a few of them deliberately remove the temporary tag on theirs once they got them, I stood back letting them have the space to try out their new toy on their own. Of course, they seemed content to ignore both the tablet and the bear now that he wasn't talking and demanding attention, focusing instead on what they'd just experienced.

The topic wasn't all that interesting to me, even when Kyoko started to summarize what I'd said to them, and the others began to panic. I'd heard it all before. Instead, I waited for the inevitable question from Byakuya.

"Is there anyone here who is actually considering all of this…?"

Not a one of them had an answer to his question.

I watched the students' gazes through the mono-bear's surprisingly high quality optics as they passed over each other's faces, internally wondering who among them were going to be the first to break; the first to commit the first sin of murder. Who among them would dare such a feat of desperation.

You could practically take a knife to the amount of hostility and suspicion filling in the air… I should really consider the time and place for my metaphors better.

Thankfully for both them and me, this would go unanswered as one of them broke free of their stupor to address the proverbial elephant in the room.

"So then," asked Kyoko in a stern, no nonsense tone. "What are we going to do now? Just stand around glaring at each other?"

A few heads turned towards her as she held her chin in her hand in contemplation, as she questioned the nature of their circumstance aloud. I wasn't sure if she'd done it to purposefully break the tension of the room as well as their fearful stupor or if it was simply an automatic reaction on her part, but I was relieved that she did it anyway.

Either way, her words were what the others needed to hear, and even if it wasn't particularly helpful in the long run, the question slowly snapped them out of their daze and began to get the gears rolling in their heads; eventually, bringing discussions with it. Even if I couldn't voice it at the moment, I was thankful for her interference.

"She's right. No matter how nervous and afraid we might be, we need to stick together in these unusual circumstances! We need to plan out our next move, very carefully." Kiyotaka spoke, tying to bring order back to his classmates. I might have applauded him had I not known that the next words out of his mouth would be detrimental to his speech. "I'm so ashamed that I let something like this startle me! Someone please, hit me!"

Like I said, and apparently at least one of the others thought so too, because across the room the scoff of Mondo came before he said, "What the hell is wrong with you, man? If you've got time to be a dipshit, you've got time to actually do something."

"Perhaps, but…" Hifumi started carefully, still trembling from the news I'd regrettably had to give them earlier.. "Exactly what is our mission here?."

"Idiot!" reprimanded the hot- headed Leon incredulously, one of a small few that I am ashamed to admit I wasn't too broken up by their death. What can I say? I don't like quitters. "We look for a way out, duh!"

Have I mentioned that I think the use of the word 'duh' makes me think that the person saying it was dropped on the head as a kid? Because it does. Especially when they stick their tongue out when they say it.

The air around them was still quite tense but luckily, there was a small voice that was able to bring them all back to their senses.

"B-Before we go any further," the timid voice of Chihiro suggested, causing the others to look at her as she bowed her head. "S-Shouldn't we look at the handbook and look at the regulations? Just so that we don't accidentally break them while we try to find a way out."

Glancing from to her to Mondo for a brief second, they momentarily remembered his brief attempt at breaking rules and the resulting aftermath of such actions. Almost as if a silent agreement was shared between them all, they all pulled out their E-handbooks and turned them on.

"Whoa!" came the overly enthusiastic call of Yasuhiro, gaining the attention of his fellow students. Holding out his E-handbook to show the others he continued with a grin, "My name came up when I turned it on! This thing is awesome!"

Both Maokoto and I grimaced at the surge of anger that radiated off of several of the others at the fortune teller's poorly timed comment. With tensions rising among the teens, his continued acting like a fool and his outright denial of their situation they were in was seriously not helping matters.

"Thanks genius. Like we already haven't figured that out!" Leon shouted before going back to read the school rules.

As all of the others did the same with their own handbooks for the next few minutes, I began to pinch my forehead in frustration. Yasuhiro and his denial was something that had been just as infuriating for me as it was becoming for them. If he didn't get a wake up call by the first murder attempt, I honestly think he will end up the second victim just to shut him up.

I grimaced at the thought, my eyes glancing back at the notebook flopped on its side on the other side of the room. I had thrown the darn thing when I'd had my fit, and though I couldn't see the page that had upset me so at the moment, I still remembered the words so vividly.

A threat. One written by, not the author of the book, but by Junko Enoshima; the original one. She had apparently read the journal before me and had learned that soon she wouldn't be…her anymore. So she had a contingency plan put in place in case I took over before her game could start. I could still remember the details in it, and most importantly the bottom paragraph of the page written in pink ink.

" _I'll keep it simple. If the game of mutual killing doesn't start on time, or if the morning announcement doesn't happen at seven every day, my associates will take that as a sign that I'm gone and destroy the school, and kill every. Single. One of them. ;3 Okay?"_

So that was it. I had to begin the events of the first game myself to keep all of us alive. I already hated myself for becoming this terrible woman, but now I had even more reasons to hate her. Even in death she was a pain in the flank. Even more so now than ever.

Learning how to work Monokuma was a bit of a challenge, but I strangely was able to figure out his controls fairly quickly. Then again, Aoi figured out how to work it during her brief moment on the controls so maybe they were simpler then I was making them out to be. Some of the other controls were for the cameras. Controlling which were being broadcast to the world, which were on or off; and several of them could even be set on a loop so that I wouldn't record things in that spot for a set time. The rest of the controls were apparently for special traps to…"execute" a rowdy rule breaker from any room.

Either way, as long as her contingency plan was in place, there wasn't anything I could really do to stop their attempts at murdering each other. Add in the fact that I would have to be the one to motivate them to murder each other every few days to a week or risk all of their lives at once, I was stuck between a proverbial rock and a hard place.

… A contingency plan…hmm, that gives me an idea.

"This is such bull!" Shouted Mondo, enraged by the regulations set forth he'd just finished reading. "Like hell I'm just gonna sit back and be controlled by something so stupid!"

His rage was far higher than he thought it'd ever been before. Not even his time in juvie had he'd been so upset by a set of rules and regulations. Just as his anger was ready to blow again, a soft yet stern voice punched through the red fog enveloping him.

"Well then, by all means wander around the school without a care and see what happens."

All heads turned towards Celeste, her hands folded under her chin as she gave Mondo a tilted smile.

"I would love to see what would happen to someone who was to officially break the rules." She added almost playfully, sending a chill down the other's spines.

"B-But I don't think Mondo would have a respawn awaiting him if the last incident is any indication." Hifumi warned, trying to help defend Mondo.

At the mention of the incident the pompadour haired biker was briefly stunned, but he recovered with grit teeth and a lowered gaze. "No, I… Ever since I was a kid, my older brother pounded into my head that a man must keep his promises, even if it kills him."

At those words the others gained a look of confusion on their faces. When it was clear he wasn't going to elaborate, one of the others decided to take it upon themselves to question him.

"And, so what?" Insensitively asked 'Junko', folding up her arms and raising an eyebrow with a scoff. I couldn't help but have my hand meet my face in exasperation. She never did learn how to read the room. Or, was this how she really thought Junko acted?

Either way, it caused Mondo to turn his glare on her and seethe. "So, I've got far too many of them to keep still. I can't afford to die here without finishing them! That's 'so what'."

Strangely to them, even though he was practically in her face, she didn't even flinch. She just stood there with the same frown painted on her face. Of course, I knew she'd seen far more intimidating things then him; with her line of work, there was a snowballs chance at a bonfire that he'd ever get anywhere with her.

"In any case," Kyoko said, getting the others attention once more. "We should investigate the school as soon as possible, and try to find a way out." Several of the others nodded in agreement with her, making plans to go out as well.

"And we should totally find whoever's behind that stupid bear and beat the hell out of them." 'Junko' stated angrily…seemingly forgetting that said, 'stupid bear', was still in the room behind her.

"…I'm still here you know." I had Monokuma remind her in a soft deadpan. Verbally she didn't respond, but judging by the slight shiver that ran up her body I didn't think she'd need to.

The air around became a bit tense in that moment, the others apparently having forgotten about the two-faced bear as well, before one of them managed to swallow the fear and ask the all-important question.

"Why are you still here anyway?" came the almost threatening question from, surprisingly, Mondo. Briefly, I wondered why he was keeping his hands in his pockets. Then I remembered that he'd already almost had a close encounter with the 'exploding Kuma' trick a few minutes ago and was likely trying to keep from trying his luck again.

"Well," I started, pretending to think about it as a held the 'ell' longer then really necessary just to get a reaction. I succeeded by the way. "As I am your headmaster, you guys are technically under my care. As such, I'm responsible for making sure you're all ready for what you'll deal with during your stay here. So rather, the question really should be, 'why wouldn't I still be here?' don't cha think?"

"That is so bull!" Mondo shouted back at me, his hands clenched hard in his pockets. "You tried to kill me a few minutes ago!"

Monokuma and I shrugged at that, and said, "Again, to be fair, I did warn you that attacking the headmaster is forbidden. I also shouted that I would explode if handled to roughly. Not my fault if you wouldn't listen." That did stop any rebuttal from him since it was the truth. It didn't, however, stop him from gritting his teeth so hard I could hear them grinding.

"Besides," I said, returning to the happy, ear-grating pitch they and I both hated so much already, but I'd have to take a risk, a gamble if I was going to help them. "I haven't even told you of the 'contingency plan ', just yet."

The news caught the attention of all of them instantly. Several of them questionably muttered a parroting of the phrase, as if they were a phrase unknown to them, and many eyebrows curved thoughtfully.

"But, you know," I started, my puppet looking away, almost as if in thought. "After that performance, and those harsh, mean words, I'm not sure I want to tell you now." With the puppet's eyes facing away from them I couldn't see exactly what they were doing, but I didn't need to see them to know that more than a few of them were growling in frustration at my uncooperativeness.

"Tell us what this 'contingency plan' is." Demanded Byakuya, the only survivor of the first game that I did not enjoy having seen that he had survived. Yeah, he may have ended up vital to the events of one of the sequels, but doesn't mean that I had to like him.

"Only if someone says the magic word." I said just to mess with him. Considering the glare, I received from him, I had succeeded.

"P-Please?" Muttered Chihiro almost too quiet to hear, unintentionally interrupting Byakuya's likely demand of 'now'. The prick even glared at the smaller student for doing so, as if she'd interrupted and insulted his lively hood with her presence alone. Not willing to see someone cry, I quickly intervened.

"Alright, you've twisted my arm." I stated, making a show of reeling back as if in pain. "I'll tell you. You remember how I said that there 'technically' isn't an end to this? See, as this is a school life style you've volunteered for, we felt that we should keep the traditions of a 'voluntary' school in check. Therefore, just to be fair we've given you another 'out', if you will. Basically, it goes like this. If no one attempts to disrupt the harmony of this school for one year straight, that's three-hundred-sixty-five days, then we will allow a group vote to be held."

I glanced around at them to see if they understood, ignoring Leon's question of if I was being serious before continuing. "If every student then votes unanimously that they wish to leave, I will open the doors for all of you. However..." I stopped, then turned so that I was pointing in their general direction.

"If there is even a single murder attempt before the vote, or if even one student wishes to stay, we will reset the timer back to the first day and start it all over again."

* * *

 _Edited by RWBYJNPR_


	5. A day in Despair

Leaning back in my chair, I let out a sigh of relief.

For the last few hours, after my announcement, I was forced to play keep up with the students as they explored the first floor of the building and the dorm rooms. The most irritating of whom was Makoto. With most of them, they seemed content to go to one or two rooms and generally stayed around there. With him? Every time I thought I was in the clear he would walk into another room and ask questions.

It was like clockwork, I answered a few questions and hustled out to the monitor room to see if someone would have needed me, and there he was in another room, asking questions. I'd rush back in, answer his questions, pop out to find another person, rinse and repeat.

The worst one was when I had to improvise while I explained the Mono-machine system to him.

* * *

"Damn Makoto, and his natural protagonist nature."

It had only been a few minutes since he had woken up from a bit of a forced nap, and already he was being a pain. Every other minute, I had to follow him on the camera to make sure he was adapting well, only for him to end up in another room where I would have to explain how things work.

Seeing him walk into the class store, I let out a sigh of frustration as I ran into the control room and booted up the Monokuma in the store.

"Hey there, Makoto!" I said, startling him slightly in the process. "Welcome to the school store!"

He looked around for a second, before asking. "School store…?"

"Is there an echo in here?" I deadpanned at him, and he had the decency to blush. "Yes, the school store. You remember how I said, 'all of your basic needs would be accommodated for'? Well, for some of you, 'basic' isn't so basic. So, to help allow you guys to get those 'not so basic' needs, we had this store made."

Not wanting to break my flow I turned towards a Monokuma-like prize crank. "For most of these needs, you'll be given a chance to earn them through here, the Mono-machine."

Turning to him again, I continued. "Now of course, nothing in this world is free, even in a place like this. You'll need to use a special form of currency here if you want something. First ones free though, because I'm feeling generous."

Passing him a token from the counter with Monokuma's face carved into it, I made a gesture towards the machine, silently asking him to use the coin. Watching him as he cautiously placed the coin in and turn the crank, I was curious as to what would come out. See, in the game there were prizes inside each of the little capsules, but they were often times hilariously larger then what the capsule should have been able to hold. It was even stranger now since the size of one of those was barely large enough to hold a tiny trinket, let alone the huge prizes in the game.

Watching him pop it open, we were notably underwhelmed that all that was in it was a wooden nickel.

"What is this thing?" he asked, turning it in his hands. I was about to make a sarcastic remark about his luck screwing with him, when I noticed that in had some letters and numbers on one side.

"Why, that's your… prize voucher." I guessed, before walking Monokuma around the counter and climbing up a stepstool hidden behind it.

"Prize voucher…?" He asked, but handed me the coin when I asked for it. Checking the number on it, I started looking around for the item on the shelves, shuffling a few of them around for a better view occasionally.

"That's right, all of the items here have a special code on them to help me identify which prize you earned. Some items are very common, and you'll find those numbers constantly. However, there are also some really rare items that are one of a kind."

I think he might have understood what I was saying since he went quite on me for a moment, and it was true. Several of the items I was seeing on these shelves were definitely either really common like several bags of potato chips, or extremely rare like the business plans for some company I'd never heard of. It really was all luck as to whether or not you got something worthwhile.

Strangely enough, he had a follow up question. "So, what if I want something else? Not what's on the token."

I had to pause at that, since as far as I could remember the only thing you could do with the prizes was to either hoard onto them, or give them away to the others during the daily life sections in between murders. That was it really. However, that was for the game only. Here, I could change the rules a bit.

"Well, if you're unfortunate enough to get the same prize multiple times, let's say five for example, then you can trade those same five copies back to me for some tokens. If you're feeling especially rich and know what specific name your item is, then you can outright request the item you want right off the shelf. Of course, that is a lot of chances to simply win it wasted on one prize that you could have earned at a cheaper price. Not to mention the fact that the best items can't even be purchased outside of winning them yourself. Ah ha! Found it."

Turning back to him with his prize, I noticed that he had a false innocent look on his face. It took me a second, but I guess I had almost caught him trying to look over the counter to see what I was getting for him.

Ignoring that, seeing as it wasn't technically against the rules, I handed him his prize. "Number eighteen, the 'Love status ring'. Wear it on your right hand, says you're looking for love. Left hand, you found it. On both… Well, then you're just asking for trouble."

He blushed slightly at the implication, but he still took the ring anyway. Though he turned his back slightly on me so that I wouldn't see clearly, I believe that he did slip it on his right, ring finger. I had to suppress the sudden inexplicable urge to squeal in girly excitement. My inner shipper was just going crazy at the sight.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm a big fan of shipping. Not just canon or 'might as well be canon from all the hints we're throwing around'. My favorites tended to be more along the lines of strange to 'unlikely unless events unfolded in an entirely different way'. I couldn't help it that a lot of the writers for the ships I liked the most tended to write them in such a way I found myself enthralled in the very concept.

I do have my limits, and I absolutely draw the line on some things and there is a huge list of things I won't tolerate. But if I can feel the passion in someone's words for these plots of romance, then I find myself getting swept along for the ride.

Instead of jumping on the opportunity, I repressed my shipping instincts and focused on continuing my explanation.

"Now, the Mono-tokens can be found all over the school, in nooks and crannies everywhere I could think of to hide them. Be sure to look carefully. Also…" I trailed off as I had the bear walk over to the door, opening it for the both of us. After he passed through, I pointed at the chalkboard stand next to the door covered in chalk drawings.

"As this school will be part of your livelihood for the foreseeable future, I feel that it's only fair that you all be responsible for the upkeep of the place. Every few days, I will place a few post-it notes on this board with some chores I'd like you guys to volunteer for with the minimal amount of coins you can earn. Once you've taken on one or two, and confirmed it with me, I'll provide you with the tools to complete the task. After you've finished, I'll inspect your work and if you impress me I'll give you more mono-tokens depending on how well you've done."

Turning back to him, I continued. "Right now, it's empty since there isn't anything that needs your attention on the first day, but soon I be putting several up to help you guys. Remember, this is your home now, it's only right to treat it as such. Also, if you don't want your prize, there's likely someone here that will."

* * *

Dear lord, I'm glad I only had to make that up once.

Ever since I explained the system to him, he'd been looking all over the place for the coins and then rushing straight back to the prize wheel to try again. It was like watching a gambling addict trying to score it big and failing to get more than a few booby prizes. I was sure that he was just trying to see if there could be an item that could help them escape, and to be fair, there was, but seeing it in action was just irritating and sad.

It was almost surreal to think that this was how most people actively played when they were going through the game, myself included.

Of course, in his defense, he had been knocked out for about an hour beforehand so I guess I could cut him some slack. Shortly after I had finished explaining the contingency plan to the others Kyoko suggested that the students split up into groups of two and explore the place. Byakuya, however, tried to split from the group, not wanting to risk being with a bunch of strangers that might try to kill him. Of course, Mondo didn't think of it like that and tried to stop him from leaving.

Byakuya, being the tool that he is, eloquently demanded that Mondo move out of his way while also insulting his intelligence and social standing, thoroughly pissing off the gang leader in the process. Then, poor old Makoto trying to defuse the situation got between the two of them. This unfortunately just made the biker change the focus of his anger onto the poor boy.

* * *

POW!

A strong swing rocketed into the unlucky student from force of the biker gang leader. For a brief moment, the boy flew backwards though the air, unhindered by gravity's grip. Then, the cruel force reestablished its grasp on him, dropping him carelessly on the wooden floor several feet away from his initial standing point with a dull thump, and taking with it his consciousness.

For a minute, no one said a thing. All eyes focused on the unmoving form of their classmate in muted shock; worried that they had just witnessed the first of their rank to be taken from the land of the living.

The most surprised was Mondo. He had no illusions that he hadn't used the full force of his rage in that blow, but he'd never seen someone fly so far from one of his strikes. He also felt an immense amount of guilt for hitting the kid. Yeah, he'd been mad because of this strange situation, and the blond scion wasn't helping anything with his attitude, but that didn't mean he should take it out on the weaker boy.

He just knew that if his brother had seen that, he would have kicked Mondo's ass for that.

Most of all though, he felt fear. Yeah, there was the obvious fear for the lucky student's life as he lay on the ground. The boy had definitely flown a lot further then he'd intended. But besides that, if the boy was dead then that meant he had just committed murder, something he did not want to deal with again.

So, he stood there with the others with his fist still extended from the punch, too afraid that he might have just killed someone, but even more afraid to check and see if he was actually dead.

"Wow," I said, not really surprised at how quickly the situation had escalated. "You know, when I said that you could graduate by killing someone, I thought you'd at least wait a couple days first; not five minutes."

Glancing around at the students, I waited for a moment to see if there would be any movement towards checking on their fellow student. However, when it would seem that wouldn't be any moves to help him from them, I sighed.

I would have figured several of them would have been the first to rush over to help. Sayaka could have been my first choice, seeing as even with having forgotten the last two years she would still have the memories of when they were younger; she should have been the most worried. Yet there she stood with her hands over her mouth in pure shock, not making a single move to assist.

Byakuya probably would have been my second thought seeing as this kind of thing would surely make things more interesting for him. Yet, he remained rooted in place; probably not willing to risk dirtying his hands to check if Makoto was breathing. Jerk.

Strangely enough, not even Kyoko was heading over to check up on him. Even without her memories, as the ultimate detective she was always the first one to check the body in the event of a death without so much as batting an eye. Yet there she stood, stiff as a bloody board.

For a solid minute, none of them made a move. Oh, there was a few token twitches to head for the body, but they remained in place; possibly not willing to paint a target on themselves. So, I decided that, if they're not going to check, then I would.

Walking over to the boy, I placed my paw on the side of his neck where his jugular was to check for his pulse…paw…whoops. Forgot that the bear didn't have a way to check for a pulse. This could pose a problem later.

Fortunately, I didn't need his pulse to see the steady rise and fall of his chest or to hear his steady, if slightly labored breathing with Monokuma's advanced camera eyes and microphone ears. But that didn't change the fact that I was the only one who cared enough to check up on him. Maybe it was because I was the one checking, but that was no excuse.

"Whelp, I can safely say that I have bad news for you…" I paused, letting their assumptions run wild in their heads and slowly drive them into the ground for not helping. "… He's only out cold, no one's getting out anytime soon."

Seeing more than a few frustrated glares aimed at the bear, I awkwardly gestured for one of them to come over. Thankfully, Kyoko seemed to finally resolved to be more worried for the boy laying at the bear's feet, then the bear itself and walked over to check on him.

Moving back to let her work, I gazed at the others with disappointment. These were the guys that I would have to keep alive for at least a year. These guys that I had to live with for a good _long_ while. I suddenly wished I'd told them it was a month, or even a week.

Because of that, I felt it only fair to give them a bit of a scare. "You know, you're quite lucky that you didn't kill him just now. With all of these witnesses around, you'd have been caught so fast that you wouldn't even make it to a trial on a rocket bike before the guilty verdict was handed down. Why, if I wanted to, I could have had you punished right where you stood for doing it to. Wouldn't even see it coming. Just, one second and, boom, dead."

I chuckled a bit at their faces as I started pacing in front of the biker, showing him how unafraid I was of him and his bulk. "Sorry for laughing, but it's just kinda ironic. All he was trying to do was stop you from doing anything too drastic and getting yourself killed, and you nearly killed him because you can't take some criticism. Funny, someone like him looking out for someone maybe three times his weight class despite how much _stronger_ they are."

I made sure to emphasize the word 'stronger' because of one thing. I knew it was his trigger word. The one word that he hated with the fieriest of passions. Both because of when he was a small kid chasing his brother, and because of the intense jealousy he had for those that were stronger then him in both the physical, spiritual, and mental, brought on from his brother's sacrifice to save his weak and ignorant behind.

Even though he had accomplished what was considered impossible by uniting every biker gang in the town under his flag, he still thought of himself as irrefutably weak and tended to fly into a blind rage whenever that word or similar words were used to describe him. And as he glared at me with a look of hate so fiery that I was truly surprised that the bear hadn't spontaneously burst into flames, I knew I wasn't going to be on his list of friends anytime soon.

But I wasn't here to be his friend, I was here to prove a point. "What's the matter? Don't like to hear how you nearly _killed someone_ who wanted to help _keep you safe_? Maybe you don't like when someone who's _weaker then you_ are willing to actually _stand up to you_ and try to help your _weak_ ass."

I knew I was waving a red cape in front of the meanest of bulls, and they knew it too but I had one last thing to say. "Come on then, hit me. Break the chains holding you back and blindly attack the source of your hatred like you always do. Just like you did to Mr. Makoto over there. Like you do everyone who ticks you off. Just let yourself fly off the handle and try to kill me like you do _for every weakling looking to get stronger_."

I swear, even when I look back on this later I don't know what had come over me to make me say such terrible, if true, things. At first it was to prove a point, but then I just kind of let go and my thoughts and the words just snowballed from there. Maybe it was some internal resentment I had for him killing off someone I had found so endearing, or maybe I saw him as a twisted mirror of what kind of terrible person I might have become had I not learned to channel my anger productively. I mean it still creeps up rarely, but it's manageable.

But, as I watched him fume, arms outstretched and fingers clawing at the air in a pantomime of strangling Monokuma, face so red you could stand him in traffic as a stop sign, eyes bulging from the pressure, I have no regrets in what I did.

With a few key-strokes, I had a single solitary weapon arm itself, a single shot air rifle that had a poisoned dart in it; deadly if I knew anything about Junko. It was the only weapon in the whole gym that could be easily seen from where Mondo was looking, as well as the others if the gasps of shock were any indication.

"Go ahead." I said in a dead serious tone. "Make my day your last."

Mondo flinched back as he registered my threat, not knowing that I had no intention of following through with it. But even with grit teeth and clenched fists primed and ready, he wasn't ready to take that risk. So, as much as it pained him, the bike gang leader took a deep inhale, and let out an explosive sigh as he backed off wordlessly.

"That's what I thought." Convinced that he wouldn't make any rash actions anytime soon, I turned back to Kyoko as she seemed to finish whatever examinations she needed on Makoto. "So, how's about one of you take him to his room?"

* * *

After some debate, mostly by them, both Sayaka and Leon were volunteered to help carry Makoto to his room. And by volunteered, I mean I told them that I would do it if no one else would, and Sayaka all but jumped to help while dragging Leon along to help with the lifting. I was going to point out that Mondo should probably do the heavy lifting since he was the one to knock the luckster out in the first place, but it looked like they had it handled. Besides, he looked like he had a lot on his mind to think about.

Though, to Makoto's credit, he did much better than his in-game counterpart. In the game, he was unconscious for far longer, not waking till the meeting around nine. This time he took it like a trooper and woke up after only two hours of rest. I had to admit, it was rather impressive.

Shaking my head to remove the thought, I briefly glanced at the camera system to see the students gathering in the cafeteria to report their findings. Confident that they wouldn't need my attention for a while, I returned my gaze to the notebook in my lap.

While I was still quite upset at the last entry in the leather back booklet, I was also intrigued as to what happened next to Junko after our unfortunate collision. There were still more questions I needed to know the answers to. So, skimming though the book, I found the entry I'd been on last and moved to find the next.

It took a few page turns, as it seemed that after the last one someone apparently spilled something on the pages, ruining the already difficult to read handwriting, but I eventually found a clean entry.

" _It's been about a month now since I worked on Junko's brain, and she's finally woken up. It wasn't for long, a few minutes at most, but she was able to talk to me so I'll take that as a success. While she was up I asked her about herself, see if she was still…well, her. Talked about her family, her past, and school, everything I could think of. While it did take her some time for a few of them, it seemed that she was all there. Though I was right about her being mad about her hair._

 _Frankly, I think it's an improvement over the dye job she had before; but I won't tell her that._

 _The school board has been hassling me for an update on her condition, but I couldn't care less about what they want. They already had me work on a monster for them, they don't need to know how she's doing._

 _Mukuro has been keeping her class from finding out about all of this. Apparently, she's been dressing up and acting like Junko for the time being. It's a rather poor imitation, but it's keeping them from bothering me, so I can ignore it for now._

 _Once Junko is able to stay awake for longer I plan to put her through some rehab. The nurse from before plans to help with that, but I don't care. As long as she's safe and alive, that's all that I care about. No matter how much of a pain she is."_

It wasn't much but it did help explain some things.

For starters, it explained why Mukuro was dressed up as me… I mean Junko. With Junko in medical care, it would be difficult to impossible for her to be able to get close to the student body to begin her plans for the tragedy to happen anywhere near a years' time. By dressing up as her sister, Mukuro would be able to keep the classes from finding out about her twin's condition while keeping up appearances simultaneously.

Also, unlike Junko, who had been all over several forums talking how she was going to attend Hope's Peak, Mukuro was only known to be attending by the headmaster, her sister, and her former squad mates. She was able to disappear with little trouble. All she'd have to say is that she was being drafted again and no one would be the wiser.

It also explained how Junko was able to corrupt the "Ultimate Nurse" Mikan Tsumiki, so easily. I knew that he mentioned her helping him with Junko after our accident and that she was working on the fearful nurse before it, but by being there to help her recover from her wounds Junko had a perfect opportunity to twist the shy girl into one of her "Ultimate Despair" minions early on.

Also, through Mikan, Junko also likely learned about the senior classmates of seventy-seven. With Mukuro focusing on fooling their class, Junko would be able to be in constant contact to eventually corrupt the other class with only a few minor problems. As well as other things she caused over time.

The thought caused a chill to run down my spine. Yet, it also made me think. These guys were twisted, fooled into undying devotion to a person who couldn't care less if they lived of died. But she was gone now, in a manner of speaking, and I was her replacement. Did that mean that I could use their loyalty to help me?

I hated the fact that I was even considering fooling these poor souls, but I needed any help I could get at the moment.

'But, first things first.' I thought as I looked at the clock and noticed that it was almost ten. 'Priorities are more essential.'

Heading back into the control room, I sat down and got ready to begin the first nighttime announcement. Making sure the Monokuma on the chair was prepped right, I pressed the bell.

*Ding dong. Dong ding*

"Ahem, this is your night time announcement, it is now ten o'clock. The cafeteria will soon be locked till morning. So, unless you want to be stuck there, please head to your rooms. Have a pleasant night, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Time to get to work.

First thing I needed to do was asses how much trouble Junko's sister would be to my plans. As the "Ultimate Soldier" she would already be a problem to deal with as it was. Having never been damaged in any battle she'd been in, she would be able to easily dispatch anything thrown at her if given the chance. It was doubtful that even Sakura would be able to stop her killing spree if she had even one real weapon at her disposal.

Not many realize how much of an impossibility it is to avoid damage during a war. Unless you had near godlike reflexes, instinctual danger senses, and amazingly asinine area awareness, or were cowards hiding with their head between their legs, you had very little chances of even being able to last for a few minutes without at least a scrape to a bullet in you somewhere. She did all of the first without a scratch on her, with literally none of the cowering. She was a one-woman army killing machine, and she knew it.

If I were to invoke her wrath, there would be literally nothing I could do to stop her. I could throw countless Monokuma, bombs, turrets, or even all kinds of tanks, and I might be lucky enough to give her the equivalent to a paper-cut. In a one on one fight, I'd be destroyed before you can finish a single blink, and even faster if she had a weapon. And no, I'm not just referring to firearms. Freaking Solid Snake would look at her and say, "Yeah, no. I've fought some stupidly broken things in my time, but I'm not touching that."

The only advantage I had on her was ironically what made her into such a terror.

I was her sister.

No, I'm not joking here. Her devotion to Junko is supposedly what spear headed her drive to never be damaged in any matter. Her obsession to prove to her twin that she was something to be recognized, prove that she was someone to be proud of, not disappointed by, that she would doom the world just to make Junko happy. She had even done so recently!

The only thing she wouldn't do, is the one thing Junko actually wanted her to. Mukuro would never bring her twin the feeling of ultimate despair from being killed by the only family she loved with all her heart. No matter how much Junko berated and belittled her, threatened her and everything she cared for, and even destroyed everything that she treasured; Mukuro refused to take her beloved sister's life.

That meant, as long as she knew me as Junko, I could tell her to do damned near anything and she would damn near drag down the heavens just to get it done. If I tell her to jump, she won't ask how high, she'll jump and pray that it was high enough to not be a disappointment again, so bad was her desire to feel Junko's love.

However, that only applies if she thinks I'm Junko. If she realizes that I'm someone else who just so happens to be using Junko's body, there's no telling how she'll react. Maybe she'll take it well and just accept that her sister just thinks a little differently now. Maybe she'll go ballistic and kill me in a fit of rage. Or, maybe she'll drop so far into despair that she'll take her own life. She might even just completely shut down.

I don't know, nor do I care to find out.

Unfortunately for me, I had to at least make sure that she wouldn't do anything too drastic to the others in her attempts to appease me. Junko. Dang it, it's hard to tell which one I should be referring to at times.

* * *

"Okay, we'll see you at the food court tomorrow!" Aoi shouted to 'Junko' as she and Sakura headed towards their rooms.

"Sounds like a plan. Later!" called back the disguised Mukuro as she waved her arm enthusiastically to hide her rapidly growing desires to be away from the both of them. Not out of annoyance or irritation of them, but out of necessity.

Without waiting for the two to walk out of sight, she quickly unlocked her door, and stepped inside before swiftly closing and locking it. Making sure it was bolted shut, Mukuro turned with a sigh before walking further into her new dwelling. It was not out of any malice or fear did she use so much caution, but rather it was because she knew she would be expecting 'company' that she didn't need to the others to go and panic about.

And as she had expected, as she walked into the main area of her room, she found Monokuma fiddling with her standard issue combat knife on her bed.

"Welcome home!"

* * *

I kept my gaze locked onto my sister's eyes, grinning despite the deadly glare aimed at the bear. I couldn't help but feel nervous. I hadn't expected her arrival to be when it was, thinking she would be taking her time with the others. So, when my attempts to see what kind of heat she was packing I hear the giggling of her door handle, you can bet I freaked out a bit and grabbed the closest thing I could find in there, before jumping on the bed, pretending that I'd been there the whole time and hoping that she buys it.

But despite that, I also couldn't help but feel excited to have a one on one conversation with Mukuro. Despite the lack of development and depth she'd gotten in the first game, she ended up becoming one of my favorite characters in the game due to the things that came up after the fact. Even knowing that whatever I say to her could mean everything possibly going sideways, I couldn't help but feel slightly giddy at the idea of talking to a character I found so fascinating.

All of the characters of Dangan Ronpa had had their own defining traits that made them noteworthy, but some tended to stand out more than others for their interesting or sympathetic backstories. Mukuro was always one of the ones that I gravitated towards, even when she was disguised.

I always found myself intrigued about her stories about her and Junko. How they we're implied to be from a rich family, and that they, or at least Mukuro were homeless at one point, and that she had been interested in. She had eventually joined the military, despite her age, after running away from her home during a trip to Europe. Somehow, she even managed to impress the military group called Fenrir enough that they gave her advanced training in all sorts of combat and firearms.

But the thing I was going to be using was the simple fact that, during one of her free time events she stated about how while she didn't mind what she did as Junko's sister, nor did she actually hate the world or wish for the tragedy that befell it. She just felt like she didn't have a choice in what she did as long as her twin wanted it.

If I was going to get her to help the others stay alive, I'll have to give her reasons to.

I then had the two-tone bear proclaim excitedly to her, so much that it nearly lost its grip on the weapon when it threw its arms in the air. "I do so hope the accommodations are to your liking, dear sister. I had to pull a lot of strings to get some of this stuff in here."

But, to my surprise, she said nothing. She simply glared at the plushy bear with the most unreadable expression I'd ever seen. Not deterred, but a little perturbed, I decided to try a different avenue.

"So, how was re-meeting our old classmates for you, hmm?" I smiled at her with a sickeningly sweet tone, though I was legitimately curious. How would it be like to have to reintroduce yourself to people that you'd been friends or at least close acquaintances with?

Strangely enough, she stayed silent, awkwardly staring at the bear long enough for my smile to become a lot more stilted. This conversation was becoming a lot more one sided a lot more quickly then I'd imagined it going.

Thankfully, the stalemate didn't last long as she finally spoke it a surprisingly strict tone. "Why didn't you tell me about the 'contingency plan'?"

I was actually surprised, my eyes wide open in shock at how quickly the conversation derailed. I was honestly stunned for a moment at how quickly she had jumped to that part of the conversation I had planned to bring up later.

"Why Mukuro," I spoke in an offended tone, trying to regain my footing of control in the conversation. "You of all people should be able to tell that I just did that on a whim. You know how much I do that."

While my acting made me seem calm outwardly, inside I was panicking heavily. Of course Junko would tell her of her plans beforehand; for the most part. After all, what good is a soldier on the battle field if without their orders? And this game is all but the most dangerous battle field she'd ever been in. So of course, she'd want to be informed of any major changes to the original plan.

"I just came up with the 'contingency plan' as a sort of backup plan. See, the thing is, I know that they won't be able to last for a whole year with each other; especially since I've got you around. I just told them about it as a way to bring them some false hope. Something to hold over their heads as they all hopelessly kill each other, ya know?"

I really hoped that she would buy my quickly improvised explanation. To be honest I _had_ made the plan on a whim. Just a random thought I'd thrown together in a few moments. Though, there was a few things that did actually help me out despite what I'd just told her.

In all honesty, the whole thing had been made in the hope of keeping their whole group together. A way to keep them holding onto their sanity for much longer than a few days. I knew that it was far from perfect, especially considering who all was involved, but it was better than the alternative.

There were many factors I had been forced to consider during and after I was making up the contingency plan. First of all, I knew that by it throwing out at the last minute like I had done I would make it seem like the least reliable option; especially since it was coming right after I had both threatened them with death and nearly blew-up one of them not to long beforehand.

In hindsight, I probably should have waited till around the first motive to mention it, or at least slipped it into their digital rulebook and waited for one of them to find it. But, it was better than never telling them at all, or worst, telling them _after_ someone went and got killed by another.

Even having said that, that also meant that the more virtuous of them would now have more motivation to keep the others alive, as well giving those same classmates more reasons to ignore my eventual attempts to give them incentive to become 'blackened'. With any luck, those ones would be able to keep the others in line.

Next there was the time limit. Yes, I had been forced to make them play this game against our collective wills, but by letting me remain in the seat of control, Junko had unintentionally given me permission to choose how the rules would play out. So, for example, if I only wanted them to play the game for a year, then I only needed them to play for a year; simple as that. Loop holes, baby!

However, if I let them go too easily then I knew there would be no way to prepare them for the hellish world that awaited them. With the deathly toxic air, daily riots in the destroyed streets, constantly rising death tolls, and members of the group calling themselves "Ultimate Despair" running amok, not to mention the several dozens of other crazy things waiting to end their collective lives; I could tell that they wouldn't last a week as they were now.

That was why I chose the time limit to be a year. That way, I could impose motives that could prepare them for what madness awaited them in the world.

"But, what if they do manage to go the whole time?" Mukuro asked, now a bit calmer now that she thought I wasn't keeping things from her, but still not quite seeing what the point would be in giving them another option to choose from. And it was true, with them all thinking that the outside world was still a place that committing murder would get you punished, of course most of them would try to wait it out instead of killing each other

"My dear, sweet sister." I said sweetly as Monokuma shook its head. "Don't you remember? I said, 'if every student votes unanimously that they wish to leave'. Obviously, that vote includes the both of us."

That was something I'd realized just recently. Even if they somehow managed to cling on for an entire year, as long as both of the Despair sisters were there, then the vote would always end up keeping the others trapped inside the school. Eventually, it would cause the some of the class to lose their hope in leaving, or cause the more violent or motivated them of them to lash out in desperation

By making it have to be a unanimous vote between us, I would be able to tell if they were ready for the insanity of the outside without having to see them drop dead before me because I hadn't prepared them. And, if on the very possible chance that some of them wished to stay after I gave them the option, then it would be their choice to make. I wouldn't fault them for it. A rather long timed plan to be sure, but it was defiantly effective.

But, that also meant that, should they all wish to leave…if they all decided to escape this sanctuary to face the world with their heads held high… Then I would embrace that decision with them, no matter the consequences.

But just because I would embrace it, didn't mean Mukuro would as well. That was why I was here now. To get her on my side.

Thankfully, my rushed explanation seemed to appease her curiosity for the moment as she started making her way over to a large dresser I noticed looked eerily similar to the one I'd found in my room. Right down to the excessive number of cosmetics; though the wig stand was new.

To my surprise, with a huff, Mukuro reached up and removed the two hair accessories from the mass of pink, before pulling the wig off of her head. I could have sworn that when you wear a wig over your hair you need at least a few dozen hair pins to hold it down, and while she did have a couple in the back, there was no way that that small amount should be hiding it all so easily.

Running her hand though her sweaty black locks, Mukuro sighed in relief at being free of the overheated head wear, before placing the soaked mass on a wig stand she'd left on her dresser. Then, she folded her arms over her chest and glared at the animatronic with apathy.

"I'm surprised," she admitted to the girl controlling the bear from so far away. "Considering how much emphasis you put on keeping your identity hidden, it's strange that you would be taking to me like this."

It was at this point that I couldn't help but wonder which of us was supposed to be the manipulator all of the sudden. Was she onto me already? Or did I mess up, and my talking with her was something that wasn't supposed to happen. Freaking hell, I haven't had this much trouble talking to a girl since middle school.

The problem with having only seen the game through one person's eyes, you don't get a good idea for what was supposed to happen outside of what was explained to the player character. It makes things so much more difficult than you'd expect; especially since this was a mystery themed title.

"The room's completely sound proof," I pointed out in a deadpanned tone. "Even if it wasn't, I could always have you take them out before they could even think to warn the others. And no one is watching us on the cameras but me. What's with all of the questions all of the sudden? Do you really doubt your little sister that much?"

She flinched back at the accusation I'd presented against her, as if I'd just walked up and slapped her. Her eyes losing their glare as they trailed to the floor, "I apologize, I simply wished to know if the plan had changed any. I didn't mean to upset you again."

I could only stare at the screen, absolutely bewildered by the sudden change from stern solider to kicked puppy. It was as if this girl was on the most finicky trigger between emotions then any kind of mental patent I'd seen in most forms of media. Was this really just from how badly Junko treated her, or was there something I wasn't seeing here?

I may have taken psychology 101, but that didn't make me the "Ultimate Psychologist".

I sighed, "That's fine, that's why I came up to talk to you after all. So, what are your thoughts on the game so far?"

I was honestly curious; I knew that she had too of had some kind of reservations to preforming in this life or death game. Even as the "Ultimate Soldier" there would be no guaranty of her survival, even with the advantages that came with being both my inside man…girl, and as the weapon I could point at where ever and who ever I wished. But, since most of them were her classmates, there was a good chance that she wouldn't be able to react properly in the event that they tried anything.

Not only that, but I wanted a second opinion on my actions thus far. With all of the changes I was making to the rules, there was a good chance that I'd already shot myself in the foot in my attempts to keep the others safe. I needed some clarification if how I was doing things was going to either help or hinder my goals.

For a solid minute she stared at me, seemingly trying to think of my reasoning for asking. Then as my impatient nerves were about to reach its peak of irritation, she asked me, "Why are you asking me this now?

Not really ready for such a question, I threw out the first thing that came to mind. "I just need to know if you're still going to participate considering how you must be feeling right now."

"Feeling?" she asked clearly confused by my remark, which only confused me in turn. Surely it occurred to her what she'd been giving up by going through with the wiping of the other's memories of their time at Hope's peak. Right?

"You know, from their memories the past wo years being wiped out. How all of the friends that you've made are now going to try and kill each other just so that they can return to a world that'll kill them in return. And how even Makoto will eventually be on your list of assassination targets. Did all of that not register yet?"

Immediately, I regretted my words as she slowly froze up with the most haunted look of realization on her face growing drastically across it. Dang it, of flipping course she wouldn't have thought about that. With how blindly she tended to follow along and with her being preoccupied by being in the game, of course she wouldn't have had time to think about the results of her actions.

But why would she? After throwing herself into her new role, the Ultimate Solider had given up her ties with her now former friends, severed her connection to the mercenary group that she had come to call family, and even ruined the school she had come to call home; all to keep her sister's plan on its track. By her own hand, she had essentially wiped herself from the face of the earth. When would this realization ever have time to kick in?

"I mean, if you want to I can pull you from the game," I backpedaled with my hands in the air. "I mean; we'd have to do it in front of at least one of them to keep the suspicion off of you, but if you really want- "

Her hand shot up in the air in the signal to stop, and she spoke in a determined tone that slowly wavered with every word. "No, I want to continue. I won't be a disappointment to you again. I _need_ to continue this for you."

I stayed silent for a minute, honestly unsure if the last comment was more to convince me, or herself. I could still see the conflict in her eyes dancing about, despite the stern and ready expression she wore on her face. Maybe it was just because she was the twin of the body I inhabited, but as I stared into those eyes of hers, I felt like I could see so much of her regrets, fears, indecision, and despair buried deep in those windows to her soul.

"…Okay, Mukuro," I said, concern layered in my tone. "But remember, if you do keep this going, there won't be another chance to back out. Not unless you're willing to make it look like you're breaking a rule."

She nodded her head once in acknowledgement to my warnings, but if anything it seemed to make her seem more determined. "I will do anything you ask, I promise to do everything in my power to give you and the others the despair you always wanted."

"…I see. That's… good to know." I replied to her as she turned back to her dresser, not realizing how much her words had affected me. As if she actually understood what I had intended for the students. As if she could really guess the reasoning behind my last minute addition to the rules. Unfortunately for her, my words had just been an impromptu ruse; a way to keep her blind in her faith to her sister's twisted goals, when the fact I was anything but supportive of said goals. I felt terrible for manipulating her like this, and I only felt worst since this moment could be the thing that got the others killed, but for this to work I still needed her to remain on my side…for now.


	6. A motive of Despair

Over the next several days, the students spent their time exploring the school to the best of their ability, going from room to room, knocking on the metal plates, trying to brute-force the bolts off them on occasion. Occasionally, when not doing that I would see them split up into various groups and simply, hang out.

Today the groups were fairly close to what I would eventually consider the standard affairs. Similar to the game, after reminding Makoto of a time from their past, Sayaka decided to become his 'assistant' and the two of them spent a majority of their time together wandering the halls or coming up with ideas about keeping safe. Sakura and Hina were practically inseparable and whenever they weren't in one of their rooms stretching and exercising as best they could they were in the cafeteria chatting over a cup of tea. In fact, right now they had opened up their circle slightly to include both Celeste and 'Junko' and were having a nice chat.

Hifumi had managed to get Chihiro to join him in a conversation in some kind of video game inspired manga he'd apparently had an interest in and they were going over the logistics for a fanfic he was planning. Mondo, Leon, and Taka were currently in a heated debate over the logic of whether or not the 'no running in the halls' rule still applied given the circumstances, while the clairvoyant Yasuhiro was trying to assist either side to all of their annoyance.

Aside from the groups, both Kiyoko in Byakuya had separated themselves from the others and while the former was being productive in looking for a way out, the later had holed himself up in his room. The odd woman out, Toko had taken to wandering the halls, seemingly looking for something, only to duck behind something every time she heard someone coming near her position. It was rather unusual even for her, but I assumed she was trying to stalk the Togami heir, but didn't know where he was hiding.

As for me, I was once again stuck in the top floor where they couldn't get to me, alone, as per usual.

"God I'm so _Bored_." After spending my time looking though Junko's stuff, I had started to see why she had started giving away motives. Solitude can only entertain for so long. No matter how much I wanted to though, my position made my moments extremely limited. Despite the irony that I could go anywhere with the Monokuma, I couldn't _go_ anywhere. I was just thankful that the interactions the other were having could keep my attention and that I had the journal to leaf though, or else I don't think I would have even lasted the week.

It was just too bad that the internet didn't exist anymore in this world, or I would have been far better off. Apparently, in someone's sick yet accurate thought process, they decided to do something that destroyed a majority of the system that kept the entire thing running to drive people into despair, another reason people decided to flock in the street to riot, and cause havoc. There just wasn't anything else that they felt they could do.

Television was still an option, but every channel was whatever camera I had specifically tuned in on to hear them talking. So that was limited.

Speaking of the journal, I had found another entry, though this one was much shorter than the others. In it was an unusual quip.

" _Junko's been acting a bit unusual today. For some odd reason, she disappeared on me while we were at the mall, and when I found her she was wearing a male tracksuit for some odd reason. What's strange though is that, when I brought it up, she acted completely surprised to see it on her. It was like she had no memory of putting it on. I'm getting a bad feeling about this."_

That was all it said, but at the bottom of the page was a small doodle that I believe was Junko in the outfit and the word " _why_?" written in blue ink as opposed to the normal black. Strangely enough, I recognized it as the very outfit I'd been wearing for the past few days. That kind of explained where it came from, but it still didn't explain why she had it in the first place.

Could this mean that I'd had some form of influence on her before this? But if that was the case, what kept me from stopping her, or at least swaying her away from this path of despair?

I shook my head, obviously whatever influence I'd had on her must had been minor to nonexistent. Maybe if I'd been able to do so, none of this would have happened. God, I've got to stop obsessing over that.

Shaking my head to remove the thought, I turned back to check up on the others and noticed that there had been a slight change in location for a few of them. Mukuro, possibly tired of the conversation had left the tea party and had gone to the laundry room to wash her clothes. In addition, Leon had apparently decided the argument wasn't worth perusing anymore and had left to bother Sayaka with something. With his assistant now held up, Makoto had gone to see who else was free for the time being.

Strangely enough, despite the inherent shyness she'd been displaying the entire time, she seemed to be poking her head out now that the luckster was alone. While not all that new considering that she'd been doing it to Byakuya several times now, the reason I found it strange was that this time she seemed to be muttering to herself with the most conflicted expression I'd ever seen.

My curiosity now peaked, I went and activated the camera's microphone to listen in on her muttered ranting.

"… could try t-to see if he'd … b-but what if he tries t-to … but, t-then again he seems the most…but, w-what if he finds out about…"

… Did I ever mention the fact that, while powerful in their own right, these microphones can't hear soft pitch worth a damn? Because they can't hear soft pitch worth a damn. Now you know.

Irritated, but far from deterred, I immediately made my way to the control panel and booted up the closest Monokuma to her position. My curiosity would not be denied its satisfaction!

Fortunately, the Monokuma I'd taken over was in the room behind her so I was able to sneak in close despite the fact that for some asinine reason all of the bears feet make a small squeaking noise when they walk. She must have been really focused to miss that. Sneaking up as close as I felt I could safely, I craned the bear over as best I could, tying to hear more of what she was saying.

"… No, h-he said he wanted t-to be your f-f-f-friend. H-He's the only one here w-who actually knows about your books, a-and he seemed to enjoy t-talking about them. M-Maybe, maybe just one last time I can try to make f-f-f- "

She cut herself off, shaking her head rapidly before grabbing at her twin braids and forcibly clenching both her eye and teeth shut. "S-Stupid! W-What the hell a-are you saying right now!? T-there's no way he'd ever actually consider being f-f-friends with the likes of you. I-it's just freaking pity, t-that's all there is to it."

Ah, that's what was going on. Not many people knew this about her, but poor Toko had not had the best of pasts. Between her detestable parents, first friend and crush betraying her trust, and her first date that she'd spent three solid sleepless nights planning for ditching her and telling her that the whole thing was because he lost a bet, her feelings of self-worth were excessively low. Add in the fact that she has a split personality of a serial killer who's first victim just so happened to have been said first crush, then it can be safely stated that her faith in herself is absolutely on life-support.

So, when Makoto had gone up to her door on the third day and asked her to hang out, you can guess that she was immediately suspicious. And when he called her his friend, her neurotic fears took full control of the wheel and steered her away with biting words tossed back for good measure.

But that didn't stop him, oh no. He was determined to at the least get her to come out and chat with the others and be friends, so after a few hours, he went straight back to her dorm and tried once more. Then when that didn't turn out as planned, he tried again. After that one failed as well, he was going to try again when he spotted Sayaka waving for his help, so he seemed to decide to try again later.

It wasn't just Toko though, including the afore mentioned pop idol, Leon, Chihiro, once with Kyoko, and a couple times joining Hina and Sakura for tea, he had been doing that kind of befriending with all of the others with more or less success. But I'm focusing on the writer at the moment since it seemed that his persistence with her was in the process of paying off. It was actually rather touching to see this being of trauma induced solitude trying to open up and make friends with one of the single most optimistically kind people in here.

There was nothing I wanted to do more then to give her a reassuring pat on the back and wish her good luck in her endeavor, and maybe even be the reassuring push to help her go forward into this path of recovery. But just when I was about to do so, reality hit me harder than a bat swung by Leon would have.

I was still only controlling Monokuma as the mastermind. If I went up to her as that, then anything I could say, no matter how kind, caring and philosophical I could make the words, they would cause her to react negatively and possibly scare her off. And even if the commotion attracted the object of her attention over, all of her built up bravery would likely be expired in an instant afterward. Oh sure, the luckster could try to keep her attention, but it wasn't likely that he'd be able to pick up the pieces of her shattered confidence in time.

So, with heavy heart, I had the bear pull back and returned it to its little hole in the wall. I'm not happy to report that when I'd gone back to check up on her though the camera, there was apparently a commotion that had caught his attention and resulted in Toko retreating back to her room when he went to investigate. Oh, how I wanted to go down there and talk some sense to her, but I had another situation to check out first, no matter how much I wanted to help her instead.

With a sigh, I turned my attention to the cameras as it seemed that something was troubling my elder twin. Since I'd been in the Monokuma control room, I hadn't heard what had started it, but if I were to make a guess, she was either still upset by our conversation a few days ago, or she was frustrated by the lack of action that being a solider use to the field of battle demanded of her. Possibly a combo of the two.

In any case, with my first source of intrigue gone, I decided I'd use a Monokuma to watch and see what she was up to now that Makoto was walking in on her. So, with a few carefully implemented commands one of the animatronic bears popped up from underneath the trapdoor hidden under the table, and turned to give me a better view of the situation

Funnily enough, at least for me, Mukuro had a bit of a habit to do her laundry in her underwear and dress shirt. So, even though she was stressing out to the fullest, the three years in Fenrir had left a mark aside from the tattoo on her hand that I doubt she even realized she had. After all, in a life or death situation your opposition isn't gonna politely stop trying to kill you to let you get dressed.

So, when Makoto rushed in to make sure she was alright, he nearly had a heart attack seeing her lack of proper attire. But his desire to make sure things were aright completely over rode his hormones desire to stare idly and he made his way over to her. Though that didn't stop him from glancing at her long, toned legs as he did so.

"H-hey Junko?" He stuttered in his attempt to get her attention causing her eyes to snap open and she quickly turned around to find Makoto standing there in the doorway, awkwardly shuffling from one foot to the other with a nervous smile on his face that did little to hide his concern.

Quickly regaining her composer, she quickly fell back into her sister's flippant personality. "What? Can't you see I'm busy?"

I shook my head at that, with her being so scrambled by the metaphorical bombshell I'd accidentally dropped on her a few nights before she'd been having moments were her frustration had caused her to snap at people whenever she was caught off guard, and judging by how she had immediately cringed at his stepping back from her tone, she knew what she'd done too.

"Y-Yeah I can see that, it's just I heard a loud noise and wanted to make sure you were alright." He stated, lightly scratching at his cheek, a nervous habit of his. It was obvious that he was trying to avoid pushing too far into her business.

Of course Makoto would rush to help someone, regardless of the dangers. The boy had this strange habit of putting his nose into other people's business, even though he could barely defend himself should the need arise. It would have been endearing if it wasn't so reckless at times.

"Right, guess I was being too noisy there. Sorry about that." She said sheepishly, pantomiming rubbing the back of her head to emphasize it without disturbing the wig on her head.

The herbivore boy seemed to be relieved to hear that, as he let out a sigh. Now that he felt that she was fine, he seemed to decide to address the elephant in the room.

"So, what happened? Did you mix your whites with colors or something?" Though he added a joking tone at the end, the blush on his face and the fact that he couldn't look directly at her for more than a second told leagues about how uncomfortable he was about her state off dress. Not that she could see, since she had turned away

"… Something like that." She muttered, still keeping him out of her range of view as best she could to not be affected by one if his infectious grins. "What did you want anyway?"

Nervously, Makoto scratched at his head again. "I just wanted to see if you were okay… and I kind of wanted to know if you wanted to talk; you know, hang out a bit? Get to know each other a little? I mean, if you're not too busy."

At first, it seemed like he would be rejected on the spot given the nasty glare that developed on her face. But after a few seconds of her glaring at nothing, she sighed heavily and turned slightly to address him with her peripheral vision.

"Fine, I was feeling super bored anyway. I guess we can chill. But I swear, if you get the wrong idea about this, or you expect me to do something like, get undressed, I'll hurt you. I have to keep my virtue safe after all." The boy gulped at the threat, but after nodding in consent went to stand next to her; not close enough to touch, but enough that he could respect her boundaries without making it seem like he was afraid of her.

"I would never expect you to do anything like… that. I just wanted to make sure you're okay. That's all." He stuttered slightly as he stood, trying to look her in the eyes; to little success.

Flipping her hair back, a small smile crept up onto her face. "I figured. You don't seem like that kind of guy. You're more like an 'omega male' type then an 'alpha' like that."

Not sure if he'd just been insulted or not, the luckster turned towards her with a simple, "Thanks… I think?"

For a few moments, there was a tense silence between them as they simply basked in each other's company, only the rumbling of the washer kept it from becoming completely silent. Occasionally, one of them would try to start up a conversation, but they'd lose their nerve before they could get the words out and fall back into their silent stupor. Makoto because every time he'd glance at her he'd blush up a storm, and Mukuro because she couldn't seem to find the words with the camera on her. I was about to switch the Kuma off and move over to another camera out of boredom, when Mukuro decided that she couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Hey Makoto, can I tell you something? Just you and no one else." If I wasn't using the Monokuma to hide under the table at the moment, I could tell the camera wouldn't have picked up her whispered words. This meant that she knew of their minor limitation and was trying to keep me out of the loop. Cleaver, but I was accidentally one step ahead of her. Thank you, dumb luck!

"Huh?" The luckster questioned, not seeing where she was going with this. But since he was a supportive person by nature, he decided to listen. "Sure, what is it?"

Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Mukuro turned to finally look him in the eyes. "… My real intentions. If I'm honest, I'm just fed up with all of this. Everyone here's an ultimate, right? So we all just get carried away before rushing into stuff. Even I have to wonder if it's okay to live like that."

"Are you thinking of quitting being a model, or something like that?"

"… When your growing up, your dreams change. That's how it goes. But, I've just been following the first dream I had since I little, almost never deviating from it. I just, never really thought about doing anything else."

"What's wrong with that? That just means you still wish to see it come true, right?"

"Yeah, I use to think that too. But now, I can't help but wonder if I'm doing the right thing with my life. If I'm just stagnating, never letting my dreams grow beyond that first thought. I put everything into that one little dream, but I feel like I could be doing far more than that, that I'm not. I don't like that feeling. I keep telling myself, 'I'm going to change, I'll go after that desire.' But I never do."

She turned to look him in the eyes again, and said with the most neutral tone I'd heard her use, that it somehow made my heart twist in my chest. "Tell me, is it childish of me to think that? Am I just being a baby?"

"No, not at all." He responded reassuringly, eyes locked with hers without straying in the slightest. "I'm trying to do the same thing in a way. Sometimes, I feel like I'll never find my answers or even like I'm losing track of what I wanted to do in the first place. I even feel like I'll never find what I'm looking for even if it takes the rest of my life. I can't even say if it's even about finding it or not. But maybe, the important thing is that you were looking in the first place. If that makes sense."

I watched the two of them from my control room, trying not to break out in a stupid grin. This was the kind of thing I had enjoyed the most about Makoto's development throughout the events of the first game. The herbivore like boy slowly gained a backbone over time and became the inspiration that the others needed, becoming their 'Ultimate Hope' in the process.

Even in the beginning, he had moments like these that set him apart from the other student body as a force to be recognized. Watching him work his hopeful magic on the other despair sister, seeing her eyes widen at his words as they started to worm their way into her twisted by despair heart, it made me feel unbelievably happy for her.

I mean yeah, his words were rather cheesy, and I had no doubt in my mind that if she had been told that by anyone else she would have probably just scoffed, berated them, and kicked them out the door. However, exactly because of who it was, why they were saying it, and that he had said them in such a determined and hopeful manor, I could tell they had affected her greatly; even if she didn't know it.

"Makoto. You actually sounded kinda cool just now." Okay, she might know it a little bit.

Shaking his hands in front of himself in a form of denial, Makoto's face lit up with a deep red blush of embarrassment. "N-No, that's not what I- I mean- That is to say- Um…"

Thankfully for his modesty, she continued, "But, you could be right. So what if you get I bit lost? As long as you're having fun looking for it, maybe that's all that matters. Thanks."

For a good while, he stood there stunned. I wasn't sure if it was because he didn't feel he deserved it because he was winging it the whole time, or if he was still embarrassed from being called 'cool' for the first time. After a while though, he smiled that oh so hopeful smile of his.

"Your welcome." Seeing how happy she made him with that remark, Mukuro flashed him a far more honest grin of her own then the Cheshire grin she'd been doing so far. But, almost as soon as he had a chance to register it, the bigger, fake grin was back.

"And in return, if I do decide to kill someone, I promise it won't be you." My face was once again having a meeting with my palm to discuss her lack of tact and social cues. Of course she would do that, every time she had a conversation during the last week, every single time, something would slip that would scare or startle someone, killing the good mood in seconds.

Makoto took that as bout as well as I thought he would as well. "D-Don't say such scary things!"

"But still…" the disguised solider cut herself off as a look of contemplation slowly crossed her face. For a few minutes she was quite, lost in her thoughts, though occasionally I saw her subtly glance at the camera hanging on the wall.

"… I hate this." She stated, a sour expression on her face. "After everything I've done, I'm now stuck in here where every day is a never-ending source of boredom, and on top of that, everyone's gonna get themselves killed, if that creep behind the bear has anything to say about it. Just… just when the hell are we gonna get out of here!?"

With that last shout, she slammed her fist onto the table in front of her, startling both me and the poor luckster. Though it did answer his question, it did nothing to remove the concern plastered on his face. Moving to put his hand lightly on her shoulder, he softly gave her a reassuring pat, causing her to tense up as if she was repressing some instinctual reaction to his touch that went unnoticed by the luckster.

"I know it can't be easy for you to be cooped up in here. I mean, it's not easy for any of us. But, you can't let that get to you. Remember, what Taka said, 'We got to stay together'. I know it'll be difficult, but we have to stick together and tough it out for now, at least until the year's over." he suggested,

"Ugh, I know, I know." She responded irritably. "But, it's so difficult! Even with what you said, there's no telling if the others will even try to wait it out. And seriously, have you even seen how that jerk Byakuya acts? If I seriously have to hang around _that_ for a whole year, I'd rather have that stupid bear kill me first."

He looked ready to refute her, but she was on a roll and he wasn't going to stop her. "And another thing. What makes you so sure that that stupid bear was even telling us the truth, huh? On what reason do you honestly think that after all the effort they _clearly_ went through to put us in here that they would just let us go just like that?"

Mukuro and I watched as Makoto flinched back at her words, but didn't look like he was going to make an effort to refute them either. Satisfied that she'd gotten a reaction out of him, "Hey!" she shouted at the camera on the wall, focused on the two of them almost intently. "Whoever the dumb bastard keeping us here is! Let us out! Are you even listening to me here!?"

But, while I felt a tad insulted there was no response from me to her ranting and raving. Only a combination of her and Makoto's steady breathing, and the soft rumble of clothing tumbling kept her from being left in total silence. Well, okay I may have made a rude gesture at her, but I said nothing either way.

"Nothing, huh? Pisses me off…"

Behind her, the luckster shrugged, "Well, I mean… They wouldn't make it that easy, right?"

Deciding I'd had enough hiding, I had the Monokuma walk out of its place under the table, startling them both at my sudden appearance. "I don't know; I think it was pretty easy. And so you know, I resent the 'dumb bastard' comment. Now, what do you want?"

Despite having to crane the bears head way up to look her in the eye, I still did my best to seem imposing. Regrettably, she had seen far worst then what this bear could pull and she glared at me though the camera. "Yeah, I'm sick of this game of yours. I want you to let us go already."

Both me and the bear shook our heads in negative. "Sorry, but as much as I'd like to simply do that, I have to follow the rules here too, ya know. You're just going to have to wait like everyone else. Unless you kill someone, I guess."

There wasn't a response from the disguised solider, just her glare of discontent. But as things were looking to get ugly between us, Makoto took a step forward to try and calm her down, causing her to look in his direction as she began to walk towards him.

"Junko, you're not thinking about doing anything to …. Drastic, are you?" he asked nervously, neither he, nor myself feeling good about the way she was moving towards him now. I was really hoping that this wasn't going to go where I think it was going.

"Drastic?" she asked in a deathly whisper, before seeming to remember her role to play and snapping back with a little peace sign and ear to ear grin. "Oh, you mean the whole, 'killing someone' thing. Nah, I could never do that."

"… Yeah, sure. You say that now." I said, causing them to turn their attention towards me again. "but everyone has a braking point. We just have to find it."

It was at that point that I knew I'd screwed up. She turned towards me, her glare returning with a vengeance as she stomped towards the Kuma with a glare hot enough to melt steel, causing a shiver to crawl down my back. "That is it! I'm fed up with you and this stupid game!"

With her piece said, she reeled her arm back, ready to unleash it onto the plushy bear's face. I thought, 'Surely she wasn't stupid enough to actually go and break one of the rules her sister had been so invested in making.' But, as I watched her start to release her punch, I couldn't help but real back in terror at the implication of what she was doing and I quickly moved to the controls in response.

However, just as I was going to activate one of the less lethal traps in an attempt to scare her off, who else but Makoto would unknowingly come to her rescue by tackling her bodily. Glancing down quickly, I caught sight of a crystal ball rolling away from the action. Obviously Yasuhiro had forgotten it after he did his laundry this morning. Makoto must have tripped on it in his attempts to stop her.

Unfortunately for the luckster, tackling a super solider, even an unarmed one, is never a smart thing to do. This fact was proven when her instincts kicked in, before she quickly grabbed what was holding onto her side and adjusted her weight to flip herself so that her assailant would take the blunt of the fall.

As she and her attacker hit the ground, it looked like she was about to twist her body in a way to cause further damage when she caught sight of her assaulter. Her eyes shot wide open when she realized that she was currently straddling Makoto with his arms pinned to his chest by her arm, the other held up in a way that would have looked far more terrifying if she'd had her knife present. My eyes also widened at that as well, but it was less about the pin, and more about the fact that she was straddling him… in her underwear.

I don't care what anyone says, that's some anime levels of shipping fuel right there! … please ignore that.

"W-What are you doing?" she questioned him, though I was wondering it myself. It wasn't the fact that he was a rather defensive kind of individual that would have been more likely to stand there and wait. At the moment, anyway. It was more the fact that this was the first time I'd seen so far where he reacted so quickly.

Normally, like with Mondo's near explosive demise, he seemed content, or at least too afraid, to jump in on the action. So to see him jump right into the fray to save someone he didn't even know, it said a lot about how much he cared.

Funnily enough, he would just end up confirming my thoughts. "S-Sorry, but you need to calm down," he insisted, grunting from her practically crushing his lungs from her weight. "Don't you remember what almost happened to Mondo? I just don't want you to get hurt!"

That explained it. Even now, with his life on the line, Makoto seemed to have just the integrity to wish for everyone's safety. No matter what happened, even when he was betrayed, threatened, or hurt terribly by someone would he wish the worst on someone. I admit, I'd kind of forgotten about that fact. Unlike me though, Mukuro didn't see that.

"You were worried about me?" She questioned, honestly confused by his actions. "Why? I haven't done anything for your sake. Hell, I _just_ hurt you when you grabbed me. So, Why?"

Briefly, a hint of shock registered on the boy's face, as if he couldn't comprehend the reason that she'd even ask that. He had probably never ever had to consider the idea that someone out there would have had to endure a life were these kind of acts of trust or such things came secondary to one's own life. But, he shook his head to remove the thought and stared back at her with one of the most determined expressions I'd even seen.

"Because you're my friend. S-Sorry I grabbed you like that, but if I had just stood by and watched you do something that I _know_ would end up getting you killed, then it would have been the same as if I had killed you myself; and I would never do that! I'll do whatever it takes to help everyone get out of here! I won't let any of my friends die!"

For a full minute she stayed there, staring blankly into Makoto's eyes as held his gaze on hers; trying to find her answers in those windows to his soul. I won't deny that I was hoping she would make a move on him, but…

"Hey dudes, any one seen my crystal- "Of course, their moment was interrupted by the poor timing of the clairvoyant as he walked into the room. All gazes snapped towards each other as the two male's faces grew increasingly red, and her glare stayed intense on the confused and embarrassed Hiro.

"U-uh, s-sorry bout interrupting. I-I'll just come back later." And with that, he was gone again, leaving the heavily blushing Makoto, my Monokuma unit and, the seemingly indifferent Mukuro behind.

"Wow." I stated, completely unamused by Hiro's interruption. "Talk about bad luck. And here I was thinking that there was about to be some steamy action in here."

The two of them turned towards me with a glare, though Makoto's was notably difficult to take seriously with the pink dusting on his cheeks. I simply smiled though at how much I was irritating them. "Of course, illicit activities on campus isn't really prohibited. But if you wanted to move this to your rooms…"

I regret nothing.

"…'Whatever it takes', huh." She muttered just loud enough for me to barely make out over the washing machine, that apparently Makoto just missed as she slowly removed herself from his now weakened grasp.

Unfortunately, it was at this time that she remembered that my Monokuma was there, and turned away from him. "… Whatever. If your done here, I've got… things to do."

Makoto flinched back at the finality of her words, as did I since it seemed a bit too harsh in my opinion. He didn't argue though, and after a final glance at her and one last glare at the bear, he made his way out of the room, leaving just the two of us once more. Wanting to be sure he was gone, I made my way over to the door and peaked out into the hall, and after making sure that there wouldn't be any surprise visitors, pulled my head back in and walked over to her.

"…So," I said as I looked at her slumped form after making one last sweep for unwanted visitors, "I can't help but wonder what that all was about back there. I thought you said you wanted to continue playing the game, and yet here you are barely a week later doing something that we both know would get you executed on the spot. Have you changed your mind, or is it you're thing with him going to be a common occurrence?"

She grimaced at my tone, but I didn't care. I needed to know if she was going to keep doing this kind of stunt the whole time. It was really throwing me off my game plan with her.

In the game, she had spent the entirety of her short time acting out her role as Junko with barely any moments of this kind of irrationality. While she had a tendency to act a bit brash, she never really tried to instigate anything. Hell, during her first free time event with Makoto she went out of her way to volunteer to find him a girlfriend; despite her crush on him.

But now, thanks to my little blunder she was so distracted and confused that it was throwing her off her game. She would never had snapped at Makoto otherwise, to deep was her love of his honest smile to even attempt such a thing. With how things were going, there was a huge risk to continuing to let her continue the act.

Either way, I needed her to either get it together, or I'd have to remove her from the equation… And no, I don't mean through the permanent option. "Sis. I know this isn't the kind of thing you're exactly… good at, but if you can't get your act together, we'll be forced to switch places to keep this thing on track. You don't want that, do you?"

She shook her head in negative, unknowingly confirming a theory I'd been working on for a while now. I had wondered if the decision to have Mukuro take Junko's place was more Junko's desire to insure her survival to the end, or Mukuro's desire to keep her sibling safe from these games. If her response was any indication, it was defiantly the latter option.

"Well, then you're going to have to be more careful from now on." I stated calmly and decisively, trying to keep her feelings into account. "Look, if things get to dicey I can still pull you. I hate repeating myself, but there's no need for you to continue doing this if you don't feel up for it- "

I flinched back when she slammed her hand down on the table, interrupting what I was about to say. I cringed expecting her to blow up on me. But instead, she calmly stated, "I'm sorry for disappointing you again. He just caught me off guard and I reacted rashly. I'll do better next time, I promise."

I shook my head slightly as a sigh of mild annoyance passed through my lips. Mukuro was getting far too emotional in her role as the Junko copy. "Fine, but no more of those outbursts. If anyone else would have seen that, you'd have blown everything."

She nodded grimly at me, but said nothing. Feeling that I wasn't going to get anything else out of her, I shut off the control for Monokuma, letting it return to its preprogramed tasks in the evacuation/air vents.

Though to fair, I was getting too far into my role too; going out and making her feel this turmoil in the first place; even if it was by accident. I honestly didn't know what had made me say those things to her, and it really raised a red flag in my mind. I was doing the exact opposite of my intended plan to keep her on my side.

I leaned back in my chair with my arms folded over my head as I thought, one of many thinking poses I'd picked up over the years.

At the moment, Mukuro was the biggest threat to my efforts to keep the students from dying a terrible death here at the school. As the Ultimate Solider, she had both the advanced training to take most of them down effortlessly, as well as her access to a wide variety of weaponry stored away in her closet for the rest. Literally, right next to about three copies of the 'not so despairing' Junko's outfit there were a dozen kinds of standard issue firearms in various sizes.

From a few simple handguns, combat knifes, a semiautomatic rifle, and a high caliber sniper-rifle, to a single shot rocket launcher of all things. I mean really, aside from maybe Sakura there was no reason for such a level of force. It wasn't clear what she would possibly need this much fire power for, unless it was something the two despair sisters were planning if they couldn't manage to convince the others to start the killing.

Furthermore, the amount of plans these two had made just to get the killing game started really disturbed me as the piles of files that I found dedicated to the very subject numbered in the hundreds. Worst still, they had far more motives for these students to become murderers in place then just ways to kill them. I knew this because when I had checked the first drawer of the filling cabinet that I had found in my room, I found it had been filled primarily with these ideas, while the second had been practically nothing but personalized motives for each student; and I didn't just mean the class of 78.

It seemed that every class that had been in Hopes Peak at the time were in there. Classes 74 through 78 as well as several members of the faculty were listed all with several kinds of physiatrist profiles detailing several kinds of dreams, thoughts, desires, history, traumas, fears, and so much more for each of these students and teachers. There was practically no end to the things these people would suffer from.

The thing that made them scarier to me was the fact that within several of them, more so the last class than any other, were several post-it notes written by Junko, about how to abuse these weaknesses to her benefit. About how to use these secrets to break them.

A shiver went down my spine at the thought. The shear level of her desire to cause despair and the lengths she was willing to go to get others to feel it had always disturbed me, but seeing one of the many methods she had waiting to be used to cause it creeped me the hell out.

My thoughts were interrupted as my console started beeping at me, alerting me to an incoming call from the outside; something that I had only found out about by accident in my boredom induced fiddling about with the computer, something I had been doing whenever it looked like the others weren't doing anything exciting; which means every few hours.

Apparently, while the students had their phones taken so that they couldn't communicate with the outside world, the mastermind had kept a wireless connection open so that she could contact the others of her Ultimate Despairs as well as a select few others. She just didn't feel like using it during the game for some unspoken reason. Something else I was going to use against her.

Unfortunately for me, it worked on a video chat system, which meant that I had to dress the part if I was to play a convincing ploy for assistance. Or to be more specific, I had to put on not only her outfit, but I had to use the two sides of Monokuma hair accessories that marked me as the Ultimate Despair, put on some mascara and various facial creams, blush, foundation, a tiny pearl necklace I'd found on her dresser, and the most irritating to me, put in her colored contact lenses that turned my eyes to a pleasant blue.

Let me be the first to say, I _hate_ contact lenses. The irritating bits of plastic never had an appeal for me. They had to be put into your eye for starters, something I already instinctually disliked on principle, and if they got dirty and you didn't know it, then that meant you were putting that junk into your eye and possibly damaging it in the process. Plus, if you forgot that they were there before you went to sleep, then it could end up in a much harder to retrieve spot in your eye, or broken.

There was a reason I had stayed with glasses despite all of the good contacts could have been for me. They may have been harder to replace then the tinier of the two, and more expensive as a result, but I could actually use them without as much worry as I would have with contacts. They also didn't itch as much.

Regardless of my opinion on the matter, I had to put them on if I was going to keep things going smoothly.

Moving over to the console and answering the call, I was greeted with the appearance of a teen that I really had trouble believing was the real deal at first. He was about over five and a half feet tall with a slightly toned frame, and he wore over it a badly worn out jumper that might have at one point been yellow, but it had turned an array of browns and blacks from various grime, grease, and dirt. His hair, while covered in a gray beanie, was long, black, and greasy, but there were hints of pink dye coloring near the ends; though they were rather faded.

Surprisingly enough, through his torn sleeves I could see that he was missing his right arm from the elbow down. In its place, there was a rather advanced looking prosthetic limb that for some odd reason had a small canister embedded into it that had a symbol I recognized as a flammable warning label pasted onto it. Attached to the top of it was a small nozzle that extended over the middle finger; a welding torch, maybe?

The worst part was his facial regions. A majority of the front was okay, but his teeth, which had been previously sharpened to a point, had several noticeable chips and cracks when he talked, and there was a large burn mark over the right of his practically dead looking eyes. In addition to that, while his left eye had a pink colored contact lens, the right looked like the piece of corrective viewing had melted into the pupal.

"Hello there, Soda-kun." I said to him in a sugary tone, simultaneously trying not to feel sick as his eyes… eye, lit up at the sight of me with absolute devotion, and an almost perverse amount of what I can only describe as loving despair.

Yes, you heard me right. This was Soda Kazuichi, the Ultimate Mechanic and one of the many members of Ultimate Despair. This poor boy had been in the same class as Mikan when Junko had started sinking her despair filled claws into the elder class, and was one of the many that she used her seductive charms on to turn into a broken husk to use as she pleased.

Apparently, sometime after the Tragedy Junko had sent him off to work on several side projects she would come up with in her boredom and would regularly contact him with more demented ideas to bring to life; even if it could kill him. One of these "ideas" apparently tried to already. That, or he did those injuries to himself in some sick way to give him greater despair. Really hoping it's the former.

It was also him who created the more unorthodox execution machines that were stored in the lower levels of the school. He apparently was also responsible for ether the creation or conception of several other little things like the cameras, the monitors, a massive air and water purifier, and even an elaborate machine that cultures, raises, cleans, and is basically what keeps making all of the food in the school that doesn't have a trademark label on it.

"So, how are things progressing?" I questioned him, my eyes fluttering briefly as I did so. Not out of some ridiculous need to be flirty with him, but because my contacts were itchy. Though, it seemed to make his everything to see it, so I was willing to ignore it for now.

"M-Mistress Junko!" He beamed excitedly at me in response, clearly ecstatic that I had graced him with my attention for even a moment. "Everything's been set up and is on its way. I have one of the Monokuma bringing them right now."

I smiled at his response, relieved that things were going smoothly. I'll admit, when I had first called him up I was really terrified that he would have recognized that I wasn't the real Junko from the word go. But it seemed my fears were unfounded as almost immediately he had jumped to wanting another idea to tinker with the second I had appeared on screen. I didn't know whether to feel relieved that he couldn't tell I wasn't the original, or pity that he was so corrupted that he couldn't tell the real deal from a fake.

"That's good to hear." I informed him, giving him an ear to ear grin that Junko was known for doing, practically sending him into some sort of despair induced nirvana; to my internal disgust.

"T-Thank you for your kind words, mistress." He stuttered, seeming to lose himself momentarily in the minor praise; before snapping back to attention.

"Oh right, I almost forgot." Soda stated with realization. "I had some extra time on my hands so I improved them a bit. Added some extra features."

I tilted my head slightly as my brow raised in confusion. Extra features? How had he managed to add more features to them when I'd only given him four days to work on this project? So I asked him such.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy, but I added a tracker to their designs so you can keep an eye on them easier and I made it so that they would explode if their locks are forced open without the keys. That'll get them to really feel despair!" He helpfully explained with sadistic glee.

I barely resisted the incredibly powerful urge to violently recoil in disgust. The way his eyes lit up as he said that sent another chill down my spine and filled me with a sense of regret. While it was Junko who had done this to him, turned him into this despair hungry teen, I was only stoking these feelings as I was. And to keep people Alive, I was going to have to do far more of that to several others.

They say the road to hell is paved in good intentions. If that's the case, then Junko, be ready to open those brimstone gates for me when I die, because by the time I was done here, there will likely be a yellow brick road stained in blood leading me there.

Subtly swallowing down my self-disgust, I smiled at him. "Upupu. That's good to hear. You're really exceeding my expectations here Soda-kun. I'm proud of you."

Apparently, those were the magic words as his eye lit up again with some form of determination. "Y-You're serious!? You really liked it that much!? Oh man, if I knew you'd like my modifications that much, I'd have put in a whole bunch more things into them! Just you wait, I'll do so much more with the next project!"

I was once again confused by what he'd said. As far as I thought, I was just being nice, giving him a little compliment for his hard work. Was he really so starved for attention that such a small phrase of praise would excite him so?

Apparently so, because he had broken into a rant about how he could improve the designs of several of his inventions, like adding an improved power converter to his arm, adding a soda dispenser to a robot Nekomaru, putting a more powerful driveshaft onto a firetruck…wait, backup a bit.

"What was that about Nekomaru?" I asked, honestly confused by the revelation of the Ultimate Coach, Nekomaru Nidai. This had been the first time I'd heard of him being anywhere near these incidents. I had assumed that he was busy doing something to help with the spreading of despair and hadn't bothered trying to call him, but apparently he was with Soda for some reason.

It was strange though, as a coach I would have figured he would be outside doing something related to sports, not in a workshop with the mechanic. He just didn't seem to be the type, so of course I would be curious about him.

"Uh…Yeah, remember that riot last month?" Soda asked nervously, obviously concerned about my reaction. I blinked, having never heard of this. A riot? When did this happen?

Not wanting to let this information go, I nodded my head slightly and signaling him to continue with a wave of my hand. Seeing as I wasn't blowing my top at him so far, Soda took in a calming breath and braced himself.

"See, Nekomaru kind of took a rocket to the chest and-"

"What!" I interrupted furiously, completely in disbelief at what I was hearing. And why wouldn't I? "Where in the heck did someone get a freaking rocket!? No, wait, scratch that. How the _hell_ is he alive after that!?"

I watched Soda leap back, shocked at my sudden shouting but I didn't care at the moment. A rocket had taken down the Ultimate Coach, in a world where people had to resort to using bats, pipes, and other blunt objects because bullets were becoming impossible to find. I mean really, who would have had such a thing after all this time?

…Mukuro didn't count. She was the damn Ultimate Soldier and an Ultimate Despair; of course she would have something like that shoved in her closet.

But beyond that, Nekomaru took a freaking rocket to the chest and apparently _survived it_. What the actual hell was he made of to allow such a thing. I mean yeah, he was obviously critically injured it the process; but you don't tend to survive something like that in any manner, what so ever! I call hacks!

"D-Don't worry about it, Mistress." Soda stammered as he scrambled back into view, though he flinched back when I turned my glare on him, silently demanding him to explain. "W-We managed to get him before he could get into too bad of a condition, a-and Mikan's caring for him as we speak! I'm working on some cybernetic enhancements so that, when he wakes up, h-he can- "

"I get the picture, Soda." I stated, interrupting his tirade before he could go any further crossing my arms and closing my eyes in a show of thought.

And I did understand a bit better now. In the third chapter of the second game, Nekomaru ended up taking a similar blast meant for another student and nearly died from it. Thankfully for him, because Monokuma wasn't allowed to kill a student that hadn't attacked him first, Nekomaru was taken in to be healed and wasn't seen till the fourth chapter. Unfortunately, when Monokuma returned him, the Ultimate Coach had somehow been turned into a cyborg.

In a way it made a bit of sense; not at the time, no, but it did now. During the events of the game, one of the other students had been given an injury similar to what their real body had sustained at some point…long story. If Junko was trying to make them despair over some physical disfigurations, then of course she would make them relive the injuries they'd previously sustained. If Nekumaru had sustained enough injuries to require such a drastic transformation in the real world, then it would make sense for Monokuma to do the same in to him in that world.

For such a strong and able bodied man who threw themselves into their work, waking up to find parts of the body they had put so much effort into perfecting, replaced with bits of soulless, un-aging, metal and plastic would be devastating. The knowledge that all of their abilities would need to be done over again. The realization that they had lost a part of themselves, in both the literal, physical, and psychological sense. That kind of thing, that kind of despair, it could break a man.

Fortunately, Nekumaru seemed to take the changes in stride, fiddling with his new bod and finding its many features to show off. Of course, it could have been that he simply hadn't had enough time to register his loss, or maybe he understood his loss too well and was using the changes as a way pretend that nothing was wrong to protect his fragile psych. Who's to say?

"Well if that's the case," I said, pausing to collect my thoughts; only semi-intentionally causing him to shake in terror that I was going to say. "I guess as long as you can get him up and going again, then it'll be fine."

His eyes widened almost comically, no doubt shocked that I wasn't punishing him in some way for upsetting me. "R-Really? You're not mad?"

I scoffed at that. "Oh no, I'm just a little bit, _absolutely livid_. Nothing too bad."

He immediately lost the little bit of hope in his eye at that, but I ignored it despite the twinge of regret I felt for doing that to him. So, I had to act my part again. "But that just means that _when_ he survives he'll be able to feel a whole new level of despair at the loss of those parts of himself. To see his emotions as he learns that those muscles he works so hard on, taken from him as if he were a toy held by pyromaniac brat with an illegal firework. It almost makes me feel jealous of the despair he'll feel."

I felt nauseated at how easy it was to say those words, lying about how I had really felt about this. If anything I had feelings of sadness and pity for the soon to be robotic coach. He was going to lose something important to him, and on my orders no less. He would survive, yes; but he defiantly would struggle to thrive in this kind of world.

"I see." Soda stated, believing that he finally understood what I wanted of him. "Well don't worry Mistress Junko, I'll make sure he feels so much despair that you'll be able to feel every bit of it from anywhere in the world!"

I tried my hardest to keep myself from vomiting at that and just gave him another wide Cheshire grin. "I'll let you get right on it, Soda-kun."

Ending the transmission, I made sure the camera was focused on the cafeteria where the students were gathering for supper and then immediately rushed out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. Throwing open the doors, not caring which restroom I had run in, I hustled straight to the nearest stall and proceeded to vacate the contents of my stomach into the porcelain bowl.

Never had I felt so sick at myself for an action I'd done. Not even when I had accidentally bashed a friend of mine in his face with a bokken, during an event no less, had I felt even a fraction of the regret I was undergoing right now. I had just committed a man to a life as a machine for a goal I had no real idea about. Yes, it would save his life, but at what cost?

I didn't know how much was going to be replaced, and I didn't' know if he would be able to adapt to his changes. For all I knew, I had just sentenced him to a life of orchestration and isolation. A life without ever finding someone to call his own. And if he found love somehow? There was a good chance that those two might have removed his ability to procreate with this level of operation being performed, taking with it the chances for Nekomaru to have a child of their own flesh and blood.

A fresh wave of nausea hit me and I struggled to contain it. "Sickness can wait; I've still got work to do. Get a grip."

Climbing back to my feet I flushed the bile then took a brief moment to splash some water in my face from the sink …and then I took another moment to berate and curse at myself for causing my mascara to run with that move. I then grabbed some paper towels and wiped off my face.

I decided to take the Makoto method and try to think positively about this. Maybe he wouldn't mind it too much, after all it _did_ save his life. Maybe he would be grateful for his new lease on life, possibly dedicate himself to helping others with his new body. Plus, there was no telling if he would really lose his ability to procreate, and if it did happen, there is still a chance that he could still adopt some kid.

I mean really, what kid wouldn't want a super robot for a dad?

Taking a little comfort in my thoughts, I slapped my cheeks and looked at myself in the mirror with a determined glare. So what if he had to be a bot, that didn't mean he couldn't learn to love his new body. He was the Ultimate Coach, Nekomaru Nidai. He wouldn't let such a thing slow him down! And people to love? Well, there was always his prized pupal!

Confidence reinstalled, I marched back to the control room and after checking the time to see that it was almost ten 'o clock, proceeded to prep for the night shift. Tomorrow morning, I was going to present the group with their first motive, something I had been thinking about for the past few days.

The problem was if I was going to stay consistent to the games motives, or was I going to do my own method. Both of these options raised several pros and cons I had been thinking really hard on.

On the one hand, if I stayed with the canon motives then there was a good chance that I could anticipate who would murder whom and plan accordingly to keep it from happening. This would also make finding the future victims and keeping them from getting hurt in the first place easier. Problem was, this also meant that I would have to be far more careful with my word choices or I could cause the wrong person to die and never see it coming; which was already becoming a problem since my inclusion of the contingency plan really changed things. This also meant that, as far as I knew, there was a risk of having to let some of them die to progress the others forward. Not going to happen.

The other hand wasn't all that favorable, either. If I just picked any random motive, I could end up causing the wrong person to die too early on. I would have to be awake twenty-four seven just monitoring their actions to make sure nothing to drastic came from it, which I might have been able to do in my old body and its constant cases of insomnia. Here though? Not happening. Already tried and then I damn near passed out at eleven.

Stupid weak as hell modeling figure and it's need for beauty sleep.

So, I went with another option. The third drawer on the file cabinet was apparently filled with plans and motives that Junko had deemed, 'failed' or 'unusable'. Ether because she felt they would be counterproductive and give them more hope than despair, that they wouldn't bring them nearly enough despair to kill each other, or because she thought they would be boring, the master mind locked them away; and that just meant I would be able to use them to my advantage.

If I played my cards right, I would be able to only install a little bit of despair in them while giving them something to cling their hopes on and over time slowly amp it up till they could handle despair with their grown hope. That way, no matter what would be thrown at them, they'd be able to overcome it.

Of course, that also meant that if I wasn't careful then there would be bloodshed. That razor sharp fine line between the two would be one of the hardest things for me to balance, but dang it, I was going to try!

"So how our you guys doing?"

I'll admit, watching the group practically leap to the other side of the room at Monokuma's sudden arrival was still a highlight of my days. I don't know, maybe it was my inner sadist talking, but little things like that were quickly becoming the main source of my entertainment in between my plans and minor interactions with them.

"W-What are you d-doing here?" half demanded half stuttered Toko, clearly upset that I'd interrupted their dinner and shocked at my sudden appearance from behind her. However, Monokuma simply sighed and shook his head, acting like I was ignoring her question.

"I swear, I thought so highly on how desperate you'd be by now that at least one of you'd have gone and tried to shank someone by now, maybe just grabbed a fork and gone to town on someone's face. But no, I have to deal with the disappointment that it would come to this." The animatronic bear sighed, as I did my best to sound truly upset over them not killing each other. It couldn't be farther from the truth, but I couldn't let them know that.

"Yeah, whatever. Whaddya want with us you homicidal maniac?" Questioned Mondo both loudly and angrily, obviously not caring that he was threatening the one who'd nearly killed him once before.

"Homici Daimaniac?" The split bear asked as I acted like I misheard the biker's words and intentionally scrambling them to mess with the delinquent. Just playing by what I could remember of my script. "What an interesting name. It's German, right?"

Ignoring the confirmation that he was being messed with, Mondo continued, "We know who you are, so why don't you stop with the act and come out already!"

Ah, that conversation. Just before I'd interrupted them, they'd been talking about a serial killer that had been heard to stalk the city for the last few years that the police hadn't been able to pin down. Every time they thought they had this twisted murderer, they would seemingly ghost away. So, the group was starting to suspect that I was that deadly fiend.

Of course, as said fiend was actually among them as a separate personality, I highly doubt they actually knew what they were talking about.

"Nananananananananana… batman." I had the two-toned bear muttered softly, seemingly uncaring about what was being said. This only seemed to infuriate the biker gang leader more.

"Don't ignore me you asshole!" He growled cracking his knuckles in a show of force, to no effect. The bear continued to ignore him, instead returning its attention back to the students. Seeing their captor's attention was on them once more caused several of them to tense up. I even noticed Sakura shift into a sort of braced forward stance in front of everyone alongside Mondo, as if putting themselves in the way if the animatronic should decide to attack. Good, that means they're at least trying to look out for each other.

"Now back on topic, I know that with the education system on its way down as it is, bunch of slackers dragging down the grade-point average and all that, I know you guys are impressive for being so on the ball, but I really didn't think you guys would have been so boring. I mean really, not even one attempt on someone's life in several days; well aside from Mondo punching out Makoto, but I'm not counting that."

Said biker flinched back at the memory of his act of misplaced aggression, as did Makoto, but they stood their ground. I nodded slightly at that, approving of their acknowledgment of their mistakes, and happy that it didn't seem like they intended to repeat them.

As if spired on by the pompadour haired man, Makoto stepped forward stating, "Of course no one's made an attempt! It doesn't matter what you say or do, we're not going to start killing each other!"

I stared at the poor deluded boy, so sure in his belief in the others that he didn't even realize how far they really would go to get out. He did seem to understand how deeply rooted the mental scars these people had to get to earn their titles, and what they'd do to keep those scars from coming back to hurt them more.

"Ah ha! Light bulb! I know just what we're missing here! I was just thinking to myself, 'Monokuma, we have all the elements for a good murder mystery, yet nothing's happening. How can we get things going?'. And that's when it hit me! The thing we need to get things rolling…Is a despair induced motive!"

Watching the students pale at my announcement, I couldn't stop my slight grin from crossing my face. I couldn't help myself, their faces were hilarious. I don't know why, but seeing them looking like that just tickled my funny bone.

"M-Motive…?" I heard the meek Chihiro murmur in the back, her voice filed with terror at the implication.

"That's right!" I shouted in answer, false enthusiasm coating my words. "And I've got just the one for you guys! Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, I'll have a very special present for you all, all set up and ready. Be ready for that, I think you'll like it."

I watched as they tensed up drastically at my words, concern and wary anticipation covering their faces. The suspense would be problematic to deal with for them, and I could tell they weren't happy about my staling it for the morning.

"…What is it?" my sort of sibling cautiously asked, suspicious yet curious about what I was offering them. But her curiosity was in vain as I had Monokuma wag his paw in the air condescendingly, her face twisting in annoyance as I did.

"Now, now, missy. Where is the fun in that? If I just told you what kind of gift you were getting, it'd spoil the entire thing! Nope, you want your gift, you got to wait just like the rest of them."

"That's fine then, we'll find out in the morning." Kyoko stated with her arms crossed, obviously not really okay with waiting but trying to move things along. "But before that, I have something to ask. Who are you really, and what do you want from us?"

I blinked, not having expected the question to be so direct and to the point, even though I knew she was the kind of person to jump straight to such a line of questioning. It was something that didn't come up often, so when it did it caught me off guard.

Doing my best to regain my composure, I decided to give both her and the others something to think on.

"Who am I? What do I want? What interesting questions. But the truth of the matter is, _who_ I am, is irrelevant. As far as you should be concerned, I am just a rather eccentric headmaster that is going out of his way to help wayward students like yourselves learn and adapt to your world."

I paused for a moment letting my words sink in. Oh there was a shout akin to, "That's such bull" from Leon, but I ignored it to continue my spiel.

"What I want, is also irrelevant. All I want to do is spread my knowledge and desires onto you and to others like you; to spread my wants so that they may be achieved by those that may succeed in my place should I fail. And I can only do that here, by keeping you all in this school and forcing you all to play this game of life, death, and despair."


	7. The movie of Despair

As the morning came, the students were greeted by the sounds of the morning announcement chiming throughout each of their rooms, waking up the groggy students from their restless sleep. Makoto struggled to open his eyes to great the new day.

"My body feels heavy." He complained, still incredibly tired from the night before. After Monokuma's announcement of there being a motive for them to begin the killing game with each other being given to them in the morning, he and the others begrudgingly decided to turn in for the night, believing that it would be better to face the demented bear's attempt well rested and prepared then fatigued and weary.

Unfortunately for Makoto, the entire concept of being told there would soon be a reason for someone to attempt a kill and not being given the motive right away, had allowed him time to dwell on what the motive could possibly be, and had unfortunately caused him to stay awake for most of the night tossing and turning, before he strangely passed out around three. Afterwards, what little sleep he had managed to get was filled with anxiety induced nightmares.

Not wanting to be the cause of delay, the boy slowly forced himself out of his warm, comfy bed and began his trek across the room towards his shower room. Taking a moment to grab the door handle, and momentarily forgetting that Monokuma told him that the frame wasn't properly set, he walked straight into the door rather than through it. Now more awake, and in a bit of pain, he then actually opened the door while holding his poor nose, and headed to the small sink next to the personal standing shower.

Glancing into the mirror of the medicine cabinet hanging over it, the fatigued luckster gazed at his haggard appearance. There was a noticeable amount of darkened space under his eyes, signifying how his body felt about the loss of a proper night's rest, and his hair was a veritable mess from his late night tossing. There was also a noticeable dimness in his eyes from just how tired he felt.

Sighing, he splashed some cold water into his face, and after rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, grabbed a small comb that he'd picked up a few days ago from the supply closet and attempted to calm the rat's nest his hair had become overnight. Once he had managed to get it to a somewhat manageable level, aside from the ahoge that always popped up no matter what he tried, he was about to brush his teeth when he caught sight of something unusual in the edge of his vision.

On his right wrist was a band, black in coloration and about an inch in diameter, wrapped tightly around the limb in a seal less connection. On top of the accessory was a very familiar jagged red eye of the Monokuma that pulsed slightly in unison with his slowly increasing heartbeat.

"What-

"-the heck are these?"

Kiyoko turned to regard the others as Mondo as he fiddled with the band on his right wrist, visibly upset that it had been put on his person in his sleep. Looking around at the other students gathered in the cafeteria revealed them all to possess similar metal bands on their own wrists. If she were to glance at her own arm, she knew she would bear witness to one such band of her own.

It seemed that overnight they'd all had an uninvited guest visit and slip one of these strange bands onto them. There was no doubt in the amnesiac girls mind that their captor was the one to give these new pieces of gear to her and classmates. Considering that they were the only one who could possibly infiltrate their locked domiciles to place these onto their person, it was rather obvious, all things considered.

"I'm not sure," Junko stated, just as confused as the others. "But, I know it clashes with my…everything."

Despite several of the others shaking their heads or rolling their eyes at her comment, I knew 'Junko' wasn't lying about her confusion at the new accessory.

This hadn't been a part of the original plan. I knew that, and I could only guess what was going through her mind at me not telling her what I was doing.

This most likely didn't sit well with her. Why hadn't her sister told her about these new developments? Did she do something to upset the despair loving sibling of hers in some way? Or was this part of another of the endless tests that her sister constantly gave? Or was this just another of her little 'whims' she tended to have? All of this and more probably ran through her mind as things were progressing in a way she didn't understand.

She didn't know the answers to these questions, but considering what I had planned, I couldn't just let her in on my scheme just yet; no matter how much it served to frustrate and annoy her

"They're kinda creepy," commented Asahina, staring at the lightly pulsing red light as it seemingly glared back at her. "I mean, what's with the blinking?"

That was something the others were wondering too, and several of the more curious and inquisitive were actually ether poking or prodding at the dim light. Some of the more naturally aggressive of them, Mondo, and Leon, were trying to use their raw strength to pull their own bands off; not wanting the bracelet on them any longer than necessary. Considering their situation, and the last time something had been acting unusual nearly caused one of them to be blown up, many of them shared the sentiment; even if they didn't act on it.

Unfortunately for them, whatever they were made of was far more durable then the meager strength that ether of the two were able to surmount, and the far more physically stronger, Sakura, wasn't attempting to remove her own; more so from being unwilling to risk angering their captor then being unable to break her own bond. So the bands stayed put, locked tightly to the wrist of each of the teens and one childish adult.

"Creepy!?" shouted my Monokuma's eerily high pitched voice from behind them in an insulted tone, causing several of them to jump back from shock. "I'll have you know they are highly sophisticated, technologically advanced, monitoring systems made for the purposeful observing of the vitals, pulse, and blood pressure of the wearers; they are _not_ creepy."

The sudden appearance of Monokuma caught everyone off guard, many stunned into mild panic induced silence at the bear's outrage. Kyoko, being one of the few that recovered quickly, decide to take the initiative to question the monotone bear.

"So they're heart monitors?" she asked, to which my two color bear instantly lost his look of fury that I had been faking and gave her a nod of confirmation.

"Yep, that's right, but there's more than just a simple pulse checker. They're the 'Mono-lifeline'! Patten pending."

Ignoring the looks of incredulity aimed my way, and a comment of "Seriously?" from one of them, the bear and I continued our spiel, the bear pacing as it did so. "You see, after the near tragedy in the gym, which was unfortunately only _near_ , I realized that I had no real way to make sure when you bustards up and died on me. Outside of the camera systems and Monokuma's, of course. If one of you guys managed to just, oh I don't know, got killed out of sight of one of the cameras, then I'd never be able to properly tell who the blackened is and we'd have to leave it up to luck and chance!"

Turning to face them fully now, Monokuma pointed dramatically towards them. "…And while that might be something someone like Makoto or Celeste might enjoy, I _refuse_ to have luck rule over your lives! If someone is going to die, then it's going to be because someone killed them, or because they were punished; no exceptions!"

Both of the mentioned students glared at the bear for his remark, but I remained unperturbed. To the surprise of many, but unfortunately not me, Byakuya stepped forward with his own observation.

"I'm assuming then that these are the 'gift' you spoke about last night." The half and half bear tilted his head slightly, seemingly confused by the prodigy's words. But internally, I was laughing my ass off at being able to have another chance to mess with him.

"Huh? What do you mean? Why would a precautionary measure to keep you from cheating be a gift? Kind of defeats the purpose of calling it a 'gift' then."

Several eyes widened at the bear's remark, but were unable to comment as I had it cross its arms and grip its chin in contemplation. "Though, I suppose, if I really think about it, I guess you _could_ call them gifts. I mean I am giving them to you out of the kindness of my heart, and free of charge to boot! I guess, they kinda are gifts then. Huh. Well, then I guess you could say this is just part _one_ of your gift!"

Confused looks passed over each of the students, concerned over what the maniacal bear could be indicating. What could possibly be their so called 'gift' if these bands weren't it? Feeling a bit brave, Makoto cautiously spoke up. "If this is part one, then what's the other part?"

"I'm glad you asked!" I replied through the headmaster bear excitedly. "I've got a special movie set up for each of you over at the _place that movies can be played._ If you'd like to receive your _real_ gift, simply go to that place and watch your own specialized movie to find out what it is. See you then!"

And just like that, the bear left their sights once more, leaving only a sense of trepidation and fear in its wake. The students gazed upon each other, wondering who among them would be the first to say anything. It didn't matter at the moment who it was to speak up to them, anything would better than this foreboding silence.

"So, who's going first?"

I watched as best I could from my camera as poor Makoto watched his video, his face becoming more and more horrified by the second. After being more or less volunteered by Mondo to check out the A/V room first, he had reluctantly gone to check it out for the others. Inside, he had found a cardboard box I'd had one of the Kuma's slip in earlier sitting on one of the dozens of monitors. Within the box he had found several CDs labeled out one for each of them. Curiosity taking hold, he had taken his own CD, plugged in one of the headphones into a monitor, and proceeded to watch.

At first, it wasn't all that bad. It was a simple video, his parents and younger sister offering words of praise and encouragement, wishing him well on his enrollment to Hope's Peak. The shire amount of cheer and enthusiasm they were giving him actually caused him too momentarily forget where he was and the situation he and the others were in.

However, then the screen filled with black static, startling him at the abrupt change. Then a new image formed that would cause his blood to run cold.

His wonderful and beautiful home that he had sent so many happy memories in was torn to shreds. Windows were shattered, cushions were ripped apart, and his family was nowhere to be seen. Then, before he had time to truly absorb what he was seeing, those horrifying words appeared on the screen.

*Look for the answer after Graduation! *

It was the same video from the first motive of the game. A true work of despair that makes you want to harm the nearest warm body. But it wasn't the only piece of Junko's sickening handy work. Each of the students had their own personalized video that used similar dirty tactics that were disgusting in how they manipulated them.

Makoto got off pretty hard, but he was just the tip of the despair iceberg. Each of them were terrible clips following the same theme. First, the people that they loved, respected, and treasured were placed into a familiar environment where they would offer they're words of support, love, and occasionally wisdom. Even those that couldn't give a damn for the people in the videos at least had a nice clip involving their family members promising to watch over the creatures the respective student; to my shock.

Then, those happy feeling would be dashed as things would take a dark turn where those same comforting locations would be fade back in destroyed, everything nice with the environment ruined, and if their loved ones weren't missing, then they would be found on the ground, seemingly unconscious or possibly worst. Living with the knowledge that their loved ones could be badly hurt or worst was a terrible feeling to have to deal with, but to know that whatever had happened to them could have only been done because of them was devastating to say the least.

"Goddamn it! I got to get out of here! I-I have to make sure they're safe." As the Luckster was proving right now. Screaming and swearing like a lunatic, saying things he didn't mean, making promises he couldn't keep, all while so distraught that he didn't even notice that his fellow classmates who had arrived to check up on him had been rendered stunned silent in the door by his shouting. Even the more stoic of them, Kyoko, Byakuya, and Celeste were shocked into a wide-eyed stupor by the normally optimistic boy and his uncharacteristic behavior.

"M-Makoto?" Sayaka, cautiously asked, having been the one to retrieve the others. "…What happened?"

The mentally hurt boy turned to look at them with a look of shock, as if seeing the students for the first time. Then his head tilted down in shame, upset with himself for losing it so easily when he had been one of the ones most dedicated to keeping everyone hoping for their eventual release. Between him and Kiyotaka, it was honestly difficult to tell who had been putting more into keeping spirits up and, asking them to stay calm and work together. Yet here he was acting what to them seemed like an irrational maniac.

However, after that video Makoto would need time to process what he'd seen. His nerves were shot; he couldn't form a proper sentence if his life depended on it. Wordlessly, he pointed over to the box, filled with the other DVDs that Monokuma had left out for them. A moment passed before everyone silently approached the box, retrieving their labeled CD as they did, and headed over to watch their own videos.

But, what images that were shown on each of them caused them to pale drastically.

I watched from my spot behind my console, sitting with my arms crossed over my generous bust and my feet propped up, staring at the students as they watched their friends and family encouraging them for their joining the prestigious school. Wishing them well in their studies, telling them to give it their all, find some people to befriend, and such things practically plagued these videos. A few of them, like Leon's and Sayaka's videos primarily focused on their former team and band respectively preforming a cheer and a song in recognition of their time together. Some were like Hiro's and Hifumi's and had a member of their family being a bit overbearing before they cut out. But, even those had a feeling of pride throughout.

The only exception had been Mukuro's, since I was still here and a mercenary group like Fenrir wouldn't want their faces to be shown on an easily accessible disk, she had not originally had one made. This meant to me that Junko had recorded one of her own for her twin to watch, which I confirmed when I watched the one labeled for her and found a particularly dark sight with an even darker message contained on it.

I knew this because I had looked through each of them to make sure they wouldn't cause as much of a problem as they did in game. Originally, Sayaka's had cut out about halfway through, only to show all of her band mates unconscious a minute later underneath a Monokuma banner. This is what sparked her attempt to murder one of her other classmates.

Now, I obviously didn't want to simply let thing go that way again, but I also didn't want to be playing a guessing game as to who would make the first attempt. So instead, I was going to play a far more risky card. A gamble that would hopefully bring them closer towards helping each other, rather than killing each other.

I was going to combine motives.

"W-What the hell is this!?"

The shout of the Ultimate Clairvoyant echoed through the room, summing up the collective thoughts of his fellow classmates. Similar cries of outrage and disbelief burst forth from several of the others. Ranging from Leon slamming his fist into the keyboard, Celeste silently stewing in carefully concealed fury, to Chihiro breaking out into tears; the reactions to their videos were several shades of despair.

"Y-You son of a bitch!" the enraged shout of the Ultimate biker burst forth as he glared at the screen in front of him.

"It must be fake…I-it has got to be fake." Taka said to himself quietly, trying to convince himself that what he had seen couldn't happen. "And, even if it wasn't… There's n-no way… Dad would never give in… never."

Byakuya stood stock still, seemingly unaffected to a casual observer. However, if one would look closer they'd see that his hands were gripping into his sleeves and his teeth were grit tightly. "So, this is the kind of game we're playing."

"W-Why is this happening?" the meek Programmer begged for an answer as she watched

"T-this can't be real. This h-has to be fake right!?" Hina practically shouted, completely appalled by what she had just witnessed. Her body shook as she wrapped her arms around herself to keep steady. Never in her life had she wished that everything was a dream, but no matter how much she pinched herself, she wasn't waking up.

As for the others, similar looks of dismay and frustration passed over their faces. Sakura and Leon gripped their fists in anger as the watched their home and former team respectfully, get demolished by more of the strange masked people leaving nothing but destruction and bleeding forms behind. Toko and Hifumi stared with wide unfocused eyes as their beloved friend and family were grabbed by similarly disguised persons. Even Celeste was glaring at the screen with utter loathing. The only ones who gave no outward response were Kyoko and Junko.

In the case of the former, her video was a piece of her past. Back when she was still a happy, smiling little girl who was playing in a field with her papa, mama, and grandfather, just enjoying life. It was obviously a homemade film considering how often the camera danced around, but the smiles on their faces and the laughter in their voices made the entire thing so enjoyable you couldn't help but get swept up in the honest joy. But then the voice of Monokuma kicked in as the clip changed to the field completely aflame and those happy emotions left you with nothing but dread. I can still remember what it said oh so clearly.

" _Such a beautiful scene, a loving father playing with his cute little daughter with not a care be found between them. Such a lovely portrait of hope, isn't it? Ah, but alas, it wasn't meant to last. Now they're gone, and there's no telling what happened to them. And the father whom the cute little one has grown to despise is gone, her worried mother fretting at home, and the grandfather who holds all the answers you seek is nowhere to be found. Where could they have all gone?"_

*Look for the answer after Graduation! *

However, despite how shocking this information was, she didn't even flinch. Oh, the look on her face was far from okay, but she was defiantly refusing to show how much the film had gotten to her. I could only speculate how deeply she was taking in the information and how she was doing her best to analyze it from a realistic standpoint. But I couldn't focus on her for too long, despite how much I desperately wanted to so that I could pick her brain.

The real focus I had though was the last student. 'Junko' I guess, had intentionally waited to grab her DVD last and was quietly observing her fellow classmates, possibly trying to decide how she felt about the amounts of despair practically rolling off of them. But as she watched hers I couldn't help but feel a small bit of smug satisfaction and hint of pity at her horror stricken face.

Her video was vastly different from the others in that, it didn't start out nice at all. No family to wish her well, no friends to offer words of encouragement, not even good tidings from her former group. No her started with death and despair, and ended with death and despair.

From the first scene, you could only see dozens of dead bodies. All piled atop each other in multiple piles, blood pooling on the ground down the horror stricken faces of each corpse. And to make matters worse, every single body, while different in either height, race, or gender, all shared two similarities.

The military grade flak jackets, and a wolf shaped tattoo on their right hands.

Then came not the voice of the sick little bear they'd been dealing with, but the twisted words of a woman, that only she and I knew all to well.

" _Hello dear sister! I hope you've been enjoying your time getting to know the others all over again. So, what do you think of my little 'motivational gift' hmm? All of that stupid gang that took you away from me, all finished in a truly despairing fashion. Gawd damn, it took me so freaking long to get it all set up for you, but I did it!"_

And like that, she appeared on screen, showing that she was in front of some sort of green screen effect that allowed her to walk amongst the decaying. But even knowing that this was my face now, it didn't stop the shivers I felt when the sick girl, Junko Enoshima smiled that twisted, perverted smiled.

" _But I'll admit, if you're watching this then you know how freaking bored I'm getting up here! Ugh, I thought you said you'd keep that from happening if I let you play as me, yet here we are. We're still without a single god damn dead body. Oh, what to do, what to do?"_

I had to resist the urge to groan at her complaining. I had grown up with the belief that whining would never get you anywhere in life, and that complaining over something you couldn't control was a waste of energy and resources. So to see what was essentially my body moaning and groaning like that really didn't make me feel all that good.

" _Hey, I got an idea! ~ If you could go kill off Makoto, that would_ really _get things going in a heartbeat! So if you'd don't mind, would you kindly go and kill that pain in the ass first chance you get? Thank you oh so very much!"_

I couldn't help but sneer at disgust when I'd first heard her say that. Oh course that sadist would follow up the deaths of several people Mukuro loved by telling her to kill the only boy she'd ever gained a crush on. It was just the kind of sick action that woman of despair would want to see. But then all of that disgusting cheer left the face of this crazy woman who I'd taken over, leaving just the nastiest glare I'd ever had the misfortune of seeing.

" _And if you don't, well, then I guess you can go join these fuckers again on a more permanent biases. I lost you to them once, I'd rather not do it again unless you make me. Understand? … K, bye!"_

And with that abrupt change in tone, the video ended. When I'd first seen it, I had the combined urges to vomit, smash the accursed DVD, and to harm the next person I saw; not necessarily in that order. However, because I literally couldn't do the last two, on account that I needed the former, and the latter wasn't possible from the control room without lethal repercussions. I really wasn't feeling up to being sick again either, so instead I decided to use my rage to fuel my attempts to look for something I could do to save them.

That was how I'd stumbled upon the communication relay that directed me to Soda. As well as a few others.

But in the here and now, as Mukuro finished her video and glanced over at the shell-shocked luckster, or rather, her new target, I knew that if it wasn't for the fact that someone else would be beating her to the punch, I'd have to keep a closer eye on her.

But when I thought about it, it made sense; in a twisted, mentally disturbed way. Junko and her sister seemed to believe that they needed to cause each other to feel despair, solely because they were twins who could understand each other. Or at least, that's what was implied.

Now, it would only be a matter of time now before the first killings began.

* * *

"… _For Sayaka, there is no place to return to. So here's the big question…What, oh what could have caused her beloved Idol group to fall apart like this?"_

 _*Look for the answer, after graduation!"_

Sayaka's entire body trembled as she watched her closest friends and rivals lying on the floor of the stage, completely unmoving. She could barely hear Monokuma jeering at her through the screen, her movements almost robotic as she reached up and removed her headphones letting them fall to the floor with a near silent clatter. Her mind tried desperately to deny what she had seen, tried to force away the images now burned into her retinas.

Unfortunately, every time she closed her eyes that horrible image of her former idols appeared, refusing to let her be. Then in that moment, something deep within her snapped.

At that same moment, she felt someone's hand gently land on her shoulder, sending a wave of shock though her body. Without a second thought, she jerked completely away from the limb as if it were on fire, practically throwing herself against the wall as she did so. Not stopping to see who it was that had touched her, out of fear and shame she made to rush the door, a single thought bubbling to the surface and escaping her lips as she ran.

"I-I have to get out of here! I need to get out of here right now! I can't…I can't be stuck here any longer!"

Unfortunately for her, her request to leave was denied in more ways than one. Instead of rushing through the door, she slammed right into it, the resounding metal slam echoing though the room and startling the others as she practically bounced off and onto the floor. Unconcerned for the fact that her palms were screaming at her from the rough landing as well a few of her classmate's calling for her in concern, she quickly leapt back to her feet and grasped the door handle to part of her freedom.

In her flustered state, she couldn't remember whether it was a pull or pushing kind of door, nor did she really care; the suddenly claustrophobic feeling room preventing any thought other then, "escape!" Slamming her full weight into the door again and again, she tried to force the door open; but to no avail. The strangely locked door refused to budge in the slightest despite her efforts.

Just when it seemed she was about to reach a whole new level of frustration, there was a shout from the other side of the room that caused a sudden chill to run down their spines once more.

"Hey, pipe down will ya!? The show is about to start, and I for one don't want to miss it!"

* * *

Everyone's eyes quickly snapped towards the front of the room were just before the projector was the irritating source of their frustrations and anguish, Monokuma. Suspiciously enough, placed just next to him was a ridiculously massive bag with man red and white stripes on it and stuffed to the point of overflow with what appeared to be popcorn.

"You!" growled Mondo as he stomped furiously over to stand next to the half and half fiend. "You've got some fucking nerve showing your face here! What's with these twisted videos, you sick bear bastard!"

If Monokuma was intimidated, it hid it very well. "Well, _obviously_ they're prologues. Honestly, haven't you ever heard of a trailer? You know, little snip bits of the full movie to get you all hyped up or just even intrigued about it."

Mondo growled at being spoken to like he was intellectually challenged, but before he or anyone could say anything else to their captor, the lights in the room suddenly dimmed and the projector was activated. As some soothing music began to play, Monokuma shushed the room once more.

" _Welcome to the show! This picture is sponsored in part by, the Despair Lifeline Hotel!"_

A beautiful sounding woman's voice spoke in a calm and southing tone, introducing the students to a scrolling view of a rather nice looking hotel overlooking an equally nice looking part of some kind of city. But, even though the appearance seemed nice, the sudden cry of Monokuma startled them out of truly appreciating it.

"Gah! Commercials! Hate them." Just to put emphasis on this, the bear threw some of the popcorn it had been holding at the screen. Not able to respond to the pelting of wasted food, the video continued.

" _Have you ever wished to give someone you care about some time to themselves? Have you ever wanted to send them away from it all where they can be kept safe from the world at large? Even if they don't want to themselves? Then send them here to live their lives in luxury. It doesn't matter who it is, we'll take them out of their home, jobs, what have you, and we'll place them into their own personal rooms to spend the rest of their lives in!"_

A sense of foreboding filled the hearts of the students at the woman's words. This sounded far too similar to what they were experiencing for comfort, and it didn't help matters that when the view changed over to show off the high quality hotel rooms where a figure was pounding at the door to their room. But, to the horror of the class, one of them especially more so then the others, the person they quickly identified as female started to shout in protest to her imprisonment.

" _Let! Me! Out! Come on!"_ the unidentified girl shouted as she banged her fist repeatedly on the door with every word, only stopping to occasionally ram her shoulder into the locked blockage, or to jiggle the unresponsive doorknob. After a minute of her violent physical and verbal assault on the poor door, the teenaged girl growled as she briefly paused to brush away her ahoge that had fallen into her vision during her assault. Then, she turned around and the students caught sight of her rather normal looking face and her sailor style school uniform as she turned again to kick the unmoving door so hard she practically flung herself onto the floor with a cry. That seemed to set off one of the students enough that he called out the name of the girl in panic.

"Komaru!" shouted Makoto in worry, greatly concerned about his younger sister being held against her will. But, before he could do anymore, the video moved over to include a rather "fluffy" young woman, a deeply tanned boy in a green sport jacket, and a pink haired woman in a blue coat, all being taped from different rooms. As each one appeared, the woman's voice rang through, continuing to advertise the hotel as if there wasn't people being held hostage.

" _Have a younger sister who's a more interesting protagonist then you? Or maybe your sister is to overbearing and successful for you. Maybe you have a loving, yet slightly jealous brother that you want to keep safe. Or just maybe you feel that you mother has been smoking too much for your liking as she tells you to be more careful with your money; no worries, we'll lock them up safe and sound from the outside world."_

The otaku Hifumi was frozen with terror induced shock at the sight of his sister, Fujiko Yamada, as she sat in the hotel room with her sketching pad. From the large amounts of wadded up balls of paper surrounding her, and her frustrated expression, he could tell she had been stress drawing. It was something that he knew that she only did when she was feeling ether extremely upset by something or something was causing her to worry.

Poor Hina was holding her hands over her mouth as she tried to contain her scream of both fear and relief at the sight of her younger brother, Yuta Asahina, sitting on his bed and staring out of the bulletproof glass that served as his window. She felt very conflicted as she looked at him. She was happy that he was alright considering the fact that her video showed him getting dragged away by a bunch of strange men, yet she was concerned that he was being held captive at all. Not to mention the fact that he looked a bit thinner then she remembered.

Hiro was grabbing at his massive locks of hair as he looked at his mother, Hiroko, trying to convince himself that it was staged, that it was just another part of this massive prank the school was pulling on them. But it was getting increasingly difficult to do so as he kept staring at the corner of her mouth where her noticeably absent cigarette was replaced with her thump as she chewed on her nails; a habit he knew she only did when she had been without a smoke for longer than a day or so. And, if he were to judge by how small her nails currently were, and by how twitchy she was currently, it had to have been at least several days to a few weeks since her last one.

But as these students were trying, and failing to compose themselves, the screen changed over to show three new rooms and the people contained within. While there was a cry of outrage and a few for it to be changed back, it was pointless as the sick excuse of a commercial continued unhindered.

" _Not so close family members bugging you to get together with them in a way you're not comfortable with? Maybe your father is too busy in the force, or they're spending too much time on the computer at work to spend time together with you anymore. Not a problem, we'll keep them away from all forms of communication and technology so you don't need to worry about them bothering you during their stay."_

Leon lowered his head at the sight of his overly loving cousin, Kanon Nakajima, as she stared hopelessly with eyes empty of emotion at a single photo frame on her desk, a picture held within the worn wood that he knew too well. It was a photo of when she had first became the manager of his middle school baseball team. It wasn't the best picture he'd ever been in. It was at an awkward angle and he had blinked in a weird way because of the flash on the camera going off a bit early, but she had absolutely loved it simply because it was the only picture she had where he had willingly hugged her first. Just seeing it again caused the walls of his stomach to gain knots, and the haunting look it her eyes only caused him to feel that much worst.

Taka meanwhile, was trying to keep his composer as he stared at the man he knew as his father, one Takaaki Ishimaru, as he stood and walked back and forth on a well-worn stretch of carpet. His graying hair was a severely frazzled, and it looked like the man hadn't had a proper shave in a long while, but there was no mistaking the officer of the law who had been a major influence throughout the moral compass's life.

Sweet little Chihiro was doing her best to keep from bursting into tears at the sight of her father, Taichi Fujisaki sitting in a chair by the hotel bed, cleaning his glasses with a piece of cloth despite the lenses being completely spotless. The elder Programmer looked fine from an outsider perspective, but to Chihiro, the signs of emotional fatigue was extremely apparent. She had seen him like this only a few times in the past, usually after he'd had a particularly difficult time at work. But, never did he seem as lifeless and hopeless as he did now, and it only made the Ultimate Programmer desire nothing more than to reach through the screen to give him a hug; despite all logic telling her it was impossible.

" _If you've got a friend or rival, never do you have to worry about them ever again! You can send even your second in command from your gang,_ _or maybe one of your fellow stars if you feel they get a bit too demanding._

The Ultimate Biker gang Leader, Mondo, knew that when the image of his second in command and elite guard, Takemichi Yukimaru, appeared on screen that things were going to be bad for the gang; even without the memory of the picture in the first video, he could say that much.

But, seeing his closest and most loyal member of his and his brother's gang doing what looked like an insane amount of push-ups in a wife-beater shirt while using his bed to elevate his legs to intensify the exercise, all the while stating something about 'avenging Leader-sama's gang', it painted a horrible picture into the biker's mind that made him gnash his teeth in furry and clench his fist so hard that had his nails been just the least bit sharp, he would have caused his palms to bleed.

Sayaka didn't bother looking back at the screen, not willing to risk seeing how her fellow idol was. She was already frazzled seeing them all in her video ether unconscious or dead; she didn't know which it was and she was too afraid to find out. It wasn't that she didn't care about if one of them was alive or not, if anything she was relieved to know that they might have all survived; she was just terrified that she wouldn't be able to see their faces on stage again. She was full of despair at the thought that after everything they did…what _she_ did to get them to the top, which was now possibly all in vain…

So she ignored the image of her coworker to focus on getting through this infuriating door, away from the people that were now in her mind registered as obstructions to her goals; no matter how much it disgusted her to think that way of anyone, even her friend Makoto. But, at the moment she didn't have time for disgust or personal feelings or even morals. She need to get out of here.

No matter the cost.

" _Worried about your elders, be they close friends or employed by your family or relatives of yours? No worries, we'll take great care to ensure their tired old bones are kept protected and completely safe until their inevitable passing."_

The heir to the Togami line, Byakuya silently grit his teeth at the sight of his main butler, Aloysius Pennyworth, for the second time in such a short interval; still being held against his will, though comparatively in much nicer conditions this time around. In a living situation where he had to focus on staying on the top, even among his own siblings, the man had been one of the few people in his household that he could put his full trust in. So, seeing the elder caretaker that had been so supportive of him being used like this, he felt it was only logical that he would feel upset.

Still, as he glanced at his peers and competitors in this twisted game he kept his expression as neutral as possible. In this situation where it would be kill or be killed, he knew giving them any semblance of weakness to exploit against him would be foolhardy. So he would keep quiet for now, and when the time came he would stand victorious in this so-called game.

Kyoko gazed intently at the elder man who the bear had claimed to be her grandfather with full scrutiny, watching his movements for any sign of deception or hint that he was anything other then what their mutual captor claimed he was. Now that she had a clear video of his current looks, she needed every second to analyze the hunched back man. Just from how quickly this advertising announcer was going through each of the video clips, she could guess that she wouldn't have longer then a moment. But if her constant observations she'd been making since the start of the game were any indication, she would be able to make plenty in the short time given.

" _And pets? No problem; whether it's a cat groomed for high society, or even an overgrown stinkbug, we'll keep your little buddies secured in one of our special hotel rooms."_

Celeste stared blankly at the black cat in a frilly collar on screen as it glared at the camera recording it from atop a rather fancy pillow. The part that had her internally fuming though was the fact that this same roundish cat was held within an almost unreasonably large pet carrier. Grand Bois Chéri Ludenberg was not some animal to be caged, and the fact that someone had the gall to not only take her treasured companion from his home, but to lock him up like a common creature really rattled her chains. ' _When I find out who the hell did this Bois, heads are going to fucking roll!'_

The introverted Toko had always had difficulty making friends. Even if you ignored her rather painful betrayals from several people, she still had difficulty interacting with people. So, when she had found a creature that was avoided even more then she was, you can bet she picked it up as a pet first chance she had.

But now that pet, Kameko she had named the stinkbug, was being held captive in a small cage. Far too small to escape through the bars, yet large enough for the demented captor to gaze upon her form, thinking who knows what kind of sick and pervert-

She cut off her thoughts before they could escalate any further into one of her many fantasies. There was a time and place for that kind of thing later.

" _We'll even take in your sick and injured and give them the care they need to recover from whatever ails them, be it crippling disease or someone recovering from surgery on their brain…even if they should probably be in the hospital, our loving care takers will keep them alive and well instead."_

Sakura had many a moment were words would fail to properly describe how she felt; not because of any form of linguistic problem on her part, no. Rather, there were points where her ability to describe how she felt about something was lost in the haze of combat, or the rage of being unable to do anything. Seeing her rival, Kenshiro, the only one who she could never defeat no matter how hard she trained, stuck in a bed looking tired, pale, sickly, and sporting a shade of white hair instead of his usual dark locks, it cause such a level of hopeless rage to flow through her that had this been one of Hifumi's manga there would have been an intense aura flying everywhere from her.

She had known when she accepted her invite to Hope's Peak that he was terminally ill and was given six months to live. When he was in the hospital, he passed onto Sakura the title of the "strongest person in the world", which she planned to hold on to until he got well again. But, to think that his disease would have progressed so far already. By all accounts she had only received the title from him a few weeks ago. Just what was happening here?

The solder in disguise 'Junko' had… _mixed_ feelings as she gazed at the picture that was supposed to motivate her. Unlike the others, hers was a static image from when the real deal had her head bandaged up when she had been recovering from her emergency brain surgery. The person who had taken it had apparently noticed through her disguise that she wasn't the real deal right away, and managed to sneak in to her sister's room and snap this picture before attempting to blackmail her with it.

Obviously, they didn't do their research on who exactly it was they were attempting to blackmail, otherwise they wouldn't have had her meet them in a dark ally, with no back up. Her sister had looked at her so proudly when she learned of it; even if she never got the guy's name.

But why would her sister use a picture of herself instead of a clip of Mukuro? Especially since she could have easily just used a clip from the past few days when she in her room with her wig off. Hell, if she'd had said anything Mukuro would have put on her old outfit and walked around to make it more convincing. And that was after using such a powerful motive with the first video. What was her sister thinking?

" _And all of this is at the low price of simply staying alive in our wonderful academy and wearing our special little product, the Monokuma brand, Mono-Lifeline! Patten pending."_

More than a few of the disturbed students deadpanned at the usage of the same words Monokuma used earlier, but besides a muttering from them at least being consistent, there was no real notable response to that. As the picture of the band appeared on screen, the woman then delivered some news they all would agree that they could have gone their whole lives without.

" _Now, you may be asking 'How does this all work?' Well, it's quite simple. These bands have been made to withstand all manner of water, heat, cold, impact, and inside every one of our Mono-Lifelines are an array of components that range from a pulse monitor, to a special feature of our own design; a heart powered, wireless, detonation device."_

"What!?" Shouted several of the students before many of them renewed their efforts to remove the bands on their wrists. But once again, they refused to budge.

" _So long as you have your device attached to your wrist, your pulse monitor will be constantly sending out a complicated signal to the Despair Hotel that basically tells us that your heart is still alive and pumping, and that your lifeline 'volunteer' should be kept among our guests; among the living ones, anyway."_

As soon as that was said, several of the class stopped trying to remove their bracelets, choosing instead to look at them more closely. The more naturally aggressive or fearful, however, continued to pull and push on their arm accessory thinking something bad would come of continuing to wear them any longer. That all stopped, with the next thing the women said.

" _However, if at any point your Mono-Lifeline should be removed, or should you meet a cruel fate at the hands of another, a signal will no longer be able to be received and your lifeline will regrettably then be forcibly removed from our care…via the fifty pounds of C4 grade explosives that have been painstakingly lined into the frame work of their rooms."_

"S-Say What!?" Hifumi shouted in complete shock at the simplified image of a person in a room surrounded in dynamite on screen. Instantly, everyone stopped trying to take off their bands, some even going so far as to hold out their arms as if they held some kind of deadly creature to be avoided.

" _If you wish to remove your lifeline from our care, as disappointing as that is for me to say, you need only to either graduate from your lovely school or outlast the contingency plan, where upon doing so your headmaster will then provide to you a map to your lifeline's hotel location, as well as the key to their room, a compass, and your own certified graduation diploma; which is necessary to the checkout proses. We hope to see your continued presence and we'd love to see you soon. Despair Lifeline Hotel. Where despair is your lifeline."_

With that, the screen faded to black as the lights came back on.

As the film came to a start and the door that I had locked remotely closed I couldn't help but reflect on the presentation I had presented them with. As a whole, the entire thing could have been made better. Truth is, I had actually planned to skip the DVDs entirely and settle for the little showing I had been working on.

Unfortunately, with my announcement the night before I had to edit the entire thing together in only a few hours' time. Add in the fact that I had no idea how the editing software in this universe worked, the fact that I had to search through the entre database to find those clips, had to find that picture of Junko in those files of hers, had to scan it into the computer, after finding out where the damn thing could be scanned into there in the first place, and that's not even including the time it took me to go downstairs to put those bands on them, come back to the control room when I realized that the gates were still down, then walking back down, realizing that they had locked their doors so I had to go back up to get the headmaster's override handbook, _then_ going back down again.

Honestly, it took me most of the night to get it all put together. And that wasn't even including the little chat I ended up having with one of the students that I certainly felt was unexpected.

By the time I was done, I damn near passed out. Then the real kicker in the whole thing, I woke up early and realized that I hadn't inserted any voice over to tell them what they were seeing!

It's actually why I rushed and put out the disks. I needed time to finish the tape before they got too touchy and blew themselves up. So, since they were of a similar bane, I went and put the disks out to give me some time to record. I didn't have the time to change the voice's tune with some kind of voice modifying software, let alone try to find it in the mess of a desktop, so I settled for lowering my voice and voicing it over that way.

Incidentally, it made me sound a little too sultry to _not_ creep myself out.

It took a few takes, but I managed to get it done just before they finished their videos. After that, I quickly locked the door, activated the Monokuma in there, and proceeded to play along. Strangely enough, that unit came with the popcorn; I had nothing to do with it.

Now, I _had_ to lock the door or else Sayaka would have run out and missed the important fact that one of her group was both still alive, and was waiting for her. Before she only saw the tape and assumed the worst, then jumped into a reckless act that cost her in the worst of ways. Now though? She knew that her friend was waiting for her and was safe.

Then there was the fact that, now that they all knew who was waiting for both themselves and the others, there was a strong reason for them to bond. Granted, it would most likely be over mutual hatred for me for holding both them and their loved ones against their wills then it would be over their relationships to said loved ones, but it would still be bonding!

So what if I lied a bit about there being bombs in their hotel rooms? If it kept them from killing each other, who was I to complain?

" … _.. Wait. Why did I tell them that there were bombs in their hotel rooms? That makes no sense!"_

The sudden realization nearly caused me to fall out of my chair as I thought about the implications. Why _did_ I tell them that there were bombs in their hotel rooms? I mean, yeah, it would theoretically keep the more timid from acting up for fear of losing their most beloved person/thing. But it would just as easily provoke the more foolish or aggressive into doing something stupid! Dang it!

"Arrg! Yes, Miss nurse, I seem to have caught a case of 'foot in mouth' disease, served with a side of _my own words_. Find me in the Alps! Why did I say that!? Gah!"

Well, the damage was done, so there was no use in whining about it. I'd just have to hope that none of them were dumb enough to try anything.

" _Even so, this isn't the first time something slipped in that I didn't notice till later. Hmm… I'm going to have to watch that in the future."_

I probably would have continued that line of thought, but a powerful yawn distracted me. "Damn this weak body of hers. If this was _my_ body, I would have been able to do all of that without being nearly this tired."

I knew it was petty of me to continue harping about it, but I just couldn't help bringing it up. Back in my old body, I was able to pull off all-nighters without too much of a hassle; I mean yeah, I would need a couple of days of proper bedrest afterwards in order to recover, but I was still able to do it in the first place and that's what counted.

With Junko, it was clear that she never pulled that kind of thing in her life and went by a very strict sleeping schedule. The second the clock hit ten it was like all of my energy just faded instantly. It really baffled me since she had to have stayed awake to know every time who the blackened was, especially since most of the crimes had been committed way after midnight.

" _What the hell was that!?_ " the sudden shout on screen returned my attention back to the students as the video came to a close. Briefly stretching to remove a small kink that had been developing in my spine I placed my hands back on the keyboard, ready for my follow up performance.

"Show time."

"Upupupu." The laughter of the strange bear echoed around the room as every monitor in the A/V room lit up to show his cuddly and disturbing face. "Now that's a commercial that keeps your attention. Am I right?"

"Monokuma!" Demanded the biker practically frothing at the mouth. "Are those twisted videos real you bear bastard!?"

The sadistic bear, once again unintimidated by Mondo and his shouting, simple chuckled in his strange way. "Upupu. Looks like y'all are finally getting the picture!"

"Indeed," gravely spoke Kyoko as she stood up from her seat, "I get it all too well. This is what you call a 'Motive,' isn't it? To find the answer to our question. To see if our loved ones are alright. To say, 'I want out of here … even if it means killing someone'."

In that moment, Makoto was completely frozen by the terrible words spoken by his classmate. The idea that anyone would ever think of doing such a thing continued to escape his grasp of mentality. He simply couldn't process the idea that there would be someone amongst them who would intentionally do something like that.

There was no denying the truth though, after what he had felt himself watching both that video and commercial, no matter how much his mind begged them to be false. " _He gave us all motives. This is how he sets up the game; if we want the see our loved ones again…"_

He didn't dare finish that thought.

"He just wants us to believe it…" Taka proclaimed loudly, despite how much his clenched fist quivered. "Those videos must be fake! That's the only explanation! We must stand united against this threat!"

"Y-Yeah. Yeah!" Hina joined in, slightly hesitant at first, but quickly latching on to the idea proposed by The Ultimate Moral Compass. "These DVDs and that commercial are complete bogus, aren't they!?"

For a single solitary moment, many of the students desperately hoped that they were correct in their assumptions. They prayed that the bear was simply pulling an elaborate prank on them and would pop out and say something like, "Fooled you!"

But it wasn't to be.

"How rude! Of all the nerve! After all the effort I had to put in to get that put together, you all think that it's CG or something! I mean, seriously!" As the bear continued to rant, the students felt their hopes and prayers slowly die out without a single sign of recovery. The possibility that their loved ones were truly trapped without any rescue was becoming truer with every word from the animatronic bear.

However, even with this being thrown into their faces, a small voice spoke up to ask a very important question. The others didn't know if it was because of desperation to know, a desire for confirmation, or even some need to assist the others in finding out their own questions, but all eyes were brought towards the meek little Chihiro in surprise as she spoke to their captor.

"B-But, they're safe. R-right?" The bear turned to regard the small child who'd interrupted its rant with a look that Makoto could almost swear was sympathy. But just as soon as it appeared, it vanished, replaced with the sadistic look he knew so well.

"Oh I'd love to tell you, really I would, but you'll have to find out for yourselves!" The bear laughed, its demented tone driving a wedge of fear into the hearts. "Besides, it looks like one of you might already be planning to find out on her own."

Instantly, Makoto turned back to the door that his friend had been trying to force open, having taken his eyes off of her to watch the video as did the others. Only now, the door was wide open, obviously having been unlocked at some point during or after the video, and more importantly, Sayaka Maizono was nowhere to be seen.

"S-Sayaka!" shouted Makoto as he bolted out of the room to find his friend, fearful that something might happen to her; if it hadn't happened already. As he did though, one of the others surprisingly called out to him.

"Leave her be," stated Byakuya in his usual demanding tone. "You'll just be in the way."

However, while Makoto did take that into consideration, such demands were ultimately pushed to the side. "I can't do that! She's my friend! There's no telling what could happen to her with Monokuma around!"

And with that proclamation he took off, chasing after his classmate with reckless ambition; never once realizing what his 'friend' would end up doing to him before the day's end.


	8. A plan for Despair

"There's got to be something in here."

I couldn't help but sigh as I leafed through the Ultimate Neurologist's book, once again trying to find something to explain what I had heard about during the night before, while occasionally looking at the dozens of monitors to see how the students were holding up.

Even though they were all currently in the cafeteria having an emergency meeting, it never helped to be too cautious. After the motive was given, and both Sayaka and Makoto took off, Taka had requested for all of them to meet up at lunch time to discuss what they were going to do about it. While his request was met with a few grumbles, they were all far too shaken up to really argue against him, so with heavy hearts they all left the A/V room; some, faster and with either more fear or purpose in their step then others.

Unfortunately, while I knew I should be listening in to make sure nothing bad happened, I was still distracted. Last night's events had left me feeling rather fatigued and it made focusing rather difficult. Then if that wasn't a factor, there was the exhausting conversation I'd had.

* * *

"Alright, just got to get a few more and we are set."

Walking out of one of the dorm rooms with a small box held under my arm and kicking the door close, I let a sigh of relief pass though my lips. After the Monokuma unit had finally delivered the armbands from Soda, I had decided it would be a wise idea to get them put onto the students before things got too dicey. While I didn't really want to be putting these bands on them, I had no intension of letting a bunch of exploding armbands stay near me for any longer than necessary.

Call me what you will, I have no intention of dying a second time if I could help it.

Now, normally I wouldn't have been able to do any form of circumstance. Not only would I have to slip these things onto someone like the Ultimate Solider, whose reaction might not have been very good for my wellbeing considering what nearly happened to the Ultimate Luckster, but some of them were unknowingly following the example of said luckster by staying awake to toss and turn with anxiety.

It always amazed me to see how in sync some of them were with each other, even with the memory wipe.

Of course, these weren't normal circumstances, were they? Whereas before I never would have been able to get into their rooms to put these on them, now I had access to a terminal that had an excessive amount of tricks and traps to use on them. Like, for example, a massive amount of knock out gas that just so happens to be connected to all of the rooms of the dorm.

Now obviously, despite what I just said about it being a 'massive amount of knock out gas', there was a limit to how much I could use before it ran out. This was especially true when I was spraying it into a bunch of rooms at once instead of one. By my estimate, I could maybe do this kind of thing two or three more times; more if I managed to get them into one room. Why Junko had never used this, I'll never know.

Anyway, after making sure that they were all asleep, I carefully picked up the box of dangerous heart monitors and continued the task of giving them to the others.

"Just got to take care of Toko, Sayaka, Makoto, and Kyoko and I can finally get some shut eye." Doing my best to suppress the yawn that tried to escape, I readjusted the much lighter box in my grip, and moved from in front of the little programmer's room in favor of the Ultimate Writing Prodigy.

I was thankful that when Junko had taken over that she had possessed the foresight to grab the headmasters E-handbook before his brutal demise. Not to say his death was a good thing, hell no. A good man got killed to allow a twisted megalomaniac free reign over his school. Nothing about that was any good.

But, thanks to that I was able to go where ever I wanted and unlock any door, even those of the students. Combined with the key to the Monokuma tunnels and I was basically all but uncatchable. Yeah, it was kinda cheating to use them, but I'm the mastermind right now. If I can't use all of the tools in my arsenal to get things done, then what's the point in continuing to try to keep them safe?

Forcibly removing the thought from my mind, I held my handbook up to the almost invisible electronic lock, and after hearing the click of the tumblers unlocking, I swiftly pushed open the door and began to scan the room for my bookish target.

Similar to the others, Toko hadn't had much in the way of personalizing her room just yet. A small personal shelf filled with several hardback books, most likely copies of her works, a few massive stacks of clean paper alongside some piles of crumpled paper in the bin next to them which were likely some failed story drafts she didn't like, a small pile of discarded clothes that needed a wash, a small single bulb night light plugged into the wall, and scarily enough, a small sharpening and honing tool poking out from under her bed.

A shiver passed through my spine. I knew all too well what those things were for.

Ignoring the tools and books, I started making my way over to the bed, pulling Toko's new armband out of the box as I did so. As I approached, I couldn't stop from looking at the lump on the mattress.

For some reason she had completely covered herself from head to toe in her sheets. Now, I had seen my fair share of sleeping habits over the years, especially now since I got a front row seat to watching these guys, but I always found it strange when someone covered themselves like this. With the sheets covering your head, you ended up limiting your air flow and for some people it made them overheat from both their hot breath and natural body heat reflecting back at them. I myself had done the same this many times.

To be honest though, it seemed like she was comfortable like this. Why, if I didn't know better I'd say she looked so calm that you'd think she wasn't even alive from how much she wasn't moving.

"…Wait a minute."

Quickly grabbing the corner of the covers in a panic, I quickly threw them off of her. I then stared blankly at the small mound of pillows occupying the space of what should have been the Ultimate Writing Prodigy. While I felt a sense of relief that she wasn't dead yet, I couldn't help but realize something terrible.

"I've been had."

This thought would have continued had I not felt someone's arms quickly snake their way around my stomach and shoulders, a warm body pressing bodily to my back and restricting my movements. Warm breath tickled my ear as my holder's embrace slowly tightened in an almost loving way. I say almost, because I was acutely aware of something long, silver, and noticeably sharp, being pointed at my throat, held in the dainty grasp of slender fingers.

Then, as if just to disgust and disturb me, a long, slimy, thing brushed up against my ear causing a violent shiver to rush down my spine. Then a voice, high in pitch and oh so deeply disturbed whispered into my ear. "Oh, undoubtedly so."

In this moment I think my 'flight or fight' response kicked into overdrive. I didn't think. I didn't breathe. I only reacted.

Instantly, my hand shot up between the gap between her arm and my neck, blocking the sharp blades access to my jugular. Then, with my life momentarily secured, I slammed the heel of my foot into the toes of my captor, inducing a grunt of pain from them. Not giving them a chance to respond more, I quickly snaked my arm around theirs and after securing it under my armpit, I used my other hand to grip their wrist.

Now that they couldn't use their weapon, I took a slight step back to keep them pressed against my back. Bending my knees, a bit, I then balanced them on my hips before twisting and dropping them to the ground like a stone, never letting go of their arm as I did so. With my attacker winded, I quickly positioned myself so that their shoulder was right between my knees and then I twisted the arm and bend their wrist just enough to cause them a little pain whilst also making sure that I could both keep the death weapon from getting near me, and to make it so that I would only need to move ever so slightly to break the arm if necessary.

I was so caught up in my adrenaline induced high that I had plumb forgot to examine the person I was holding on to, I was even about to bust up their arm just to show how much I meant business. Fortunately, for my female attacker, it could only be a girl considering the pitch, her spontaneous and rather out of place laughter snapped me out of my trance.

"Kyehheheh!" She laughed loudly despite how much pain she should be in. "Boy, you still don't mess around with the foreplay, do ya Shiro-chan? Or is it Kuro-kun running the helm right now? How's my old cut-cut buddy today?"

"Toko?" I stared down at the unmistakable form of Toko Fukawa, utterly confused as to what she was talking about. 'Shiro-chan? Kuro-kun? Cut-cut buddy?' my mind was completely lost as to what she meant by these terms.

But as I gazed upon her form, I noticed that there were somethings out of place. For one, her eyes had changed from her normal off purple hue and almost eternally nervous expression to a dark blood red color with a completely twisted look in them. For another, in addition to her unsettling grin, her tongue, which any KISS fan would probably nod in approval of at its absurd length, was dangling out of her mouth completely. Finally, looking at the weapon that had been at my throat mere moments ago, I saw that they were a long pair of unnecessarily long scissors that had been sharpened to a point on both sides, including the side that is normally dull to prevent accidents.

"No, you're that Genocide side of hers. What are you doing out?" It was strange. From what I could remember, the only things that could make this side of Toko come out was either the sight of blood, when she sneezed, and when she was knocked unconscious. Of course, there also that Taser gun as well, but that wouldn't be a factor for a long time. So, just what _was_ she doing out?

"Who knows." She shrugged, or at least she tried to despite the difficultly such an action was with my knees buried into her shoulder. "Got to say though love, it's nice to actually wake up in a bed for once. First time that's happened!"

I stared down at the serial killer with my brow raised, trying to think of why she would have shown up while Toko was sleeping. Not once while I was watching them did Toko switch over to this side of hers. If she had, I should have noticed.

Then a thought occurred to me. "Hey, Genocider, you wouldn't happen to come out from knock out gas too, would you?"

Again she laughed in her maniacal way, then she turned her head to address me. "What kind of question is that? Of course it would! Whenever miss bore goes for an unscheduled nap, you can bet that I'll be up to play! Though that does explain why I feel so much more sluggish then normal."

Ah, so that's what happened. "So when I gassed the place, you came out in response. That makes enough sense to me."

She nodded in confirmation, wicked smile still intact. "Now is that something I'd never thought I'd hear; mister miss no fun gassing a poor girl in the night. Such a naughty person you are. Now, could you get off me? I mean, I'm all for some kinky fun, but this serial killer doesn't swing for the girl on girl action. Especially when I'm in the sub roll."

Ignoring her perverted commentary, I'd heard worst on my many adventures to the internet, I acknowledged her request and let go. Holding out a hand, I then helped her stand up with her free arm.

Now, you might think I'm insane to let a professed, proud, and proven _serial murderer_ go, let alone help them up after they had me at scissor point. But in my case, I knew I wouldn't have to worry. After all, I'm not a pretty boy. Genocide Jack, or Jill, or Sho, whichever you called her, was only interested in utilizing her crucifixion fetish on men in their teenage years that just so happened to be either real hot, or really cute; never anyone else.

So while she did scare me a little bit, I mean, who wouldn't be terrified of an infamous serial killer; I knew I didn't have any reason to be afraid for my life, even with her around.

"So," she said in an inquisitive tone, looking me in the eye a bit too deeply for my tastes as she briefly rotated her wrist a bit to work out any kinks that might have popped up from my rough handling. "Kuro-kun, how's my favorite cut-cut buddy doing on this dark and foreboding of nights, hmm? Sneaking into a girl's room all on your own, doing who know what kind of things to her. So daring!"

There's that name again. Kuro-kun. In all honesty, she shouldn't even know who I am since it was implied both in the game and the animation that she had never actually meet Junko face to face. Though even with that, it was unusual that she didn't know Junko's name, despite the fact that aside from Mukuro, she should be one of the only ones in this school who would have at least heard of it; even with me dressed in the blue jacket and pants.

"First of all," I stated in a matter of fact tone. "I'm only in here to give Toko her heart-monitor arm-band, not to get frisky. Second, why are you calling me Kuro-kun and cut-cut buddy? And finally, how do you even know who I am?"

In the reason for the last question, again I point to the game. In this case, when Junko had revealed herself to the survivors, she had the group bring out Genocider to prove a point about the outside. As Genocider is a completely different personality in Toko's head, they didn't share memories, so despite one of them losing their memories of the Tragedy, the far less sane one still had them. However, again, when Genocider came out, she didn't recognize who the mastermind was, despite having all of her memories intact.

At first she didn't say anything, simply tilting her head slightly in confusion. Then, her face brightened up with a look of realization before she snorted and broke out in laughter, hands pressing flat against her ribs as peals of chuckles rolled out at her. Giving her a minute to compose herself, I crossed my arms over my chest and began tapping my foot impatiently.

"You done?" I questioned her. After a moment of brief chuckles, she nodded once and at my signal for her to continue, began her explanation.

"The woman called Junko, is a face of two. A woman with a white heart of despair, who only loves the allure of the immoral pain she brings to all with her half-truths of hope. Alongside her is the boy with blackened heart of hope, whose twisted mind is always trying to bestow onto others healing hope with despairing lies. They clash and fight. Their goals becoming twisted in their strife, but alas, there's never a peaceful day for you or your plight."

Well, it was more a kind of twisted poetic verse then an explanation. It did simultaneously explain nothing that I'd asked for, and yet answered so much I hadn't even thought about.

No, it didn't tell me about the names all that much, but it did confirm my suspicion that I had apparently had some form of prior influence on Junko's actions. It also brought to light that this strange person before me knew far more then she possibly should have.

There was more to this situation then I'd initially thought.

"How do you know all of that?" Again, my question was met with crazed laughter, causing my face to scrunch up in irritation. What on earth could she keep finding so funny about my questions? Oh how I hate being left out of the joke.

After another minute of waiting for her to calm down, or at least as calm as she could get, she looked me right in the eye, and while trying to resist bursting out in laughter again. "Oi, she really did a number on you Kuro-kun. Can't even remember that you were the one who asked me to tell you that bunch of dribble."

… What?

"and after all of the fun we'd had, the time you brought me out to meet my master on the veranda, the first time you helped me cover up my little moment in the showers, actually making my gloomy self, negotiate with me for times of freedom, and the times we would spend carving up cuts for the slack-jaws of our class when we weren't plotting against your other half. All those happy memories, gone like all those halfwits in the wind. Pity."

For a brief moment, my mind crashed as a terrible thought occurred to me. Memories. If what this psychotic, blood lusting girl was talking about was accurate, then the students weren't the only one who lost the last two years of their lives. I mean, I figured that I wouldn't be able to recall some of it because of my awakening. But to hear that I was actually missing those memories was radically different then beliefs biased on assumptions.

It also meant that, with these holes in my memory, there was chances that what little I did know about the past thanks to the novels and plot pieces during the games could be all but worthless now. If I had possessed that much more influence before the tragedy, then what I had originally thought of this situation could be radically different.

Take Soda for example. Even when the others were being influenced to change physically, he was one of the ones who remained the same. If the changes the other members were undertaking were accurate to what their real bodies had to endure, then he should have remained the same here too. However, as the robot arm and various scaring he had were drastically different from the original game, it was clear that things were changed somewhat here.

' _But,'_ I thought to myself as I glanced at the jabbering serial killer next to me, the gears turning in my head. ' _maybe that's why she knows me in the first place._ '

It would make sense, of all of the students here at the school, she would be the best one to choose to help me along the way. Well, maybe 'best' is a bit too strong a word here; but logically she'd be the only real choice. As Genocider doesn't share memories with Toko, anything I'd tell her would immediately be safe from whatever sort of mind erasing that the others would have gone through. So just like Mukuro would be Junko's spy and knife, the crazy girl would be mine if I had been able to convince her.

Also, if the pre-sequel was any indication, Toko could freaking tank anything thrown at her! Seriously, in my time running through the game she was smacked, trashed, sliced, stabbed, clawed, electrocuted countlessly, freaking blown up on multiple accounts, nearly crushed, and chewed on with exploding chattering teeth; and that was only during easy mode! She may not be the Ultimate fighter, or solider, but if I needed someone to back me up, then I would pick the psycho tank every time!

But that begets the question, "So, since you know who I am, what did I do to get you to want help me?"

* * *

Ever since then the questions had been piling up. What all was changed? What did I manage to influence during my time? When and why did I gain control of this body, and for what reason was I the only occupant now?

I just kept running those thoughts in my mind, and similar questions kept running through my mind while my flipping through the neurologist's journal, looking for some kind of confirmation to the rather… _bizarre_ tale. No matter what I said about her, I wasn't going to blindly trust a serial killer.

As I continued to think about what she'd told me, I stopped trying to rush through the book and found my next entrée. However, after skimming though it I had to pause a moment to check and see if what I'd read was what I'd thought it was.

" _Things have been getting rather weird during the last week. Junko has been experiencing several moments of lost time, each one of different length then the last. The first time that happened, I found her at the gym not too far from the school doing a yoga class for about an hour. Then the next time she vanished on me I found her in the school's cafeteria with that fat little cook making an Italian dish of some sort. The next, she went to an arcade and spent three whole hours on some dance game they had. All things that she had never done before, and every time I asked her what she had been doing, she would respond as if she hadn't a clue what I was talking about._

 _That wasn't the only thing weird thing she's been experiencing. Yesterday she came to me talking about the single most bizarre dream she'd ever had where she was in some kid's room at night with only a flashlight. While she was there, she had to run to either the closet, the bed, or the two hallways on either side of the room and use the torch to keep away these unsettling depictions of a bear, duck, rabbit, and fox of all things. But when I tried to comfort her about it she said, 'It was scary as all hell, but that was the most fun dream I'd ever had.'_

 _Not a single one of those events top the most resent one though. Today I caught her chatting with one of the kids from my class, some kind of crazy musician I've been avoiding like the plague. But this wasn't like when she normally talks with people. Junko was using these strange quotes I couldn't ever recall her using before, and for what feels like the first time since we were kids, she was laughing sincerely; for a moment it was like she was an entirely different person. It only stopped when she walked away, and when she did, she looked around like she didn't know how she'd gotten there._

 _I've been watching her ever since and I believe I may have a theory as to why she has these moments. See even with the parts of the brain that I removed, the ones I replaced them with must still have parts of that guy's memories stored away in the neurons. Therefore, it could very well be that the times where she lost control could possibly be parts of his mind trying to reestablish itself and the conflicting memories are causing her to try and act out the old memories in an attempt allow them to properly anchor them into the new brain, but because they aren't supposed to be there, she's subconsciously suppressing them afterwards when she leaves the location that brings up these memories._

 _That's just my theory though, I'll have to do some more investigating to know for sure."_

Well, that certainly helped. So I did apparently have moments of control, maybe not consciously as he suggested, but they still happened none the less. And if what he was saying is accurate, then the reason I couldn't remember was because Junko herself couldn't remember. It was very likely, but only considering one little fact.

Let me let you in on a little secret. Reading fiction and playing games is far from the only things I have decent knowledge of. I know a lot of little things brought on by bursts of curiosity and access to various books, people willing to share their knowledge, or more recently and extensively, the world wide web. One of those things is the fact that the idea of 'swapping minds' is scientifically impossible; and yes I realize my situation may make you believe otherwise, but here me out.

I once had a conversation with both a psychologist and an actual neurologist on the subject, and according to them, when your memories form they are stored, not through simple electric impulses as most fiction writers tend to believe, but as a physical cluster of neurons that are set to fire in a specific sequence that when fired in a way similar to how the original experience was arranged create memories. In other words, your mind and the memories that make you who you are isn't a simple signal ricocheting around in your head, but is a solid set of circuits that collectively make up who you are.

That's why I could believe this journal and what its author was telling me. Since he transferred parts of my brain into hers, as ludicrous as that sounds, then it would only make sense that things that my mind remembered as important to me would cause my part of the brain to try and make her do things that she would have no memories of herself.

Her attending a yoga class? I always attended one every chance I could to keep myself limber. Cooking with Teruteru? I was majoring in culinary school and was almost always responsible for the pasta or grain dish during most presentations since it was my best field of study. Even her nightmare could be attributed to one dream that I may or may not have been having after failing to beat a curtain game; yet finding joy in trying anyway.

So I sucked at a game, I was not playing to impress anyone, I was there for fun.

My inability to best horror games aside, with my actions causing her to act out like me, then there was a good possibility that in one of my moments of takeover she could have induced the event that lead to Genocider swearing to assist me in my time as the mastermind.

It also kind of explained the naming thing she did with me. While she was out, she had this strange habit of giving out bizarre names that vaguely fit whomever she'd give it too. Calling me that strange name was most likely her way of remembering me properly instead of Junko.

But that also raised the question, if it only lasted for a few hours before, why did I not switch back long ago? Not that it isn't sort of appreciated, but unless something drastic happened to cause this change in status quo, then I really should have swapped back with her long before now. So what gives?

As I pondered, I turned my attention back to the cameras as the students seemed to be finishing their meeting and were heading back to their dorm rooms for the most part. Hina decided that she needed something to calm her nerves and had recruited Sakura for security and to share a cup of tea or two before they went to bed. If what I knew of the game still applied, then it was likely she was going to ask the fighter to sleepover with her afterwards to help them remain safe.

Kiyotaka was planning to do a few last sweeps of the rooms to make sure nothing could possibly come out and get anyone, and had somehow managed to get Mondo to join him. And finally, Hiro decided to try the same thing, but with the intent of finding his missing crystal ball more so then looking for tricks and traps that I didn't even hide.

I sighed to myself for what felt like the hundredth time, "At least they're trying to keep themselves safe better than they did in the game."

I hated that I kept returning to the game as my point of reference for their future actions, but even with the changes that I'd caused, things seemed to be progressing in a similar fashion to the canonical story. From the introductions, to Celeste offering them a supplementary rule of not leaving their rooms after lights out, they seemed to follow the same general pace. Oh, there had been some deviations from the standard affair like with Mukuro and Toko, but for the most part things had been progressing rather similarly.

Glancing at the cameras again I quickly checked out their rooms to see what was going on. As I mentioned before, with the exception of the afore mentioned Taka, Mondo, Hina, Sakura, and Hiro, all of the students had gone straight to their dorms. While there, several of them had taken to lamenting their despair in their own way.

Makoto had taken out his frustration on the paper bulletin that explained the rules of lights out, and had thrown the crumpled up sheet into the trash before sitting miserably on his bed, staring at his band all the while. Leon had violently beat on his pillow for about ten minutes, before collapsing in an exhausted heap. Celeste, meanwhile, was swearing up a storm so massive that I doubt a seasoned sailor would be able to withstand the on slot, and Chihiro was trying to break my heart with her teary face as she tried to get a hold of herself.

Both Hifumi and Toko were taking their frustrations and fears out on several piles of paper with either their writing or drawings, while Byakuya was trying to compose himself by running himself through several strategies; at least I assume so, since he was muttering to himself as he wrote on his notepad. Kyoko was the only one who seemed unfazed by the events, and had gone straight to bed. Though, I should mention that I didn't like how Mukuro was looking at her closet with steely eyes.

Lastly there was Sayaka who had been freaking out the most since the motive was shown. After Makoto managed to catch up with her, he managed to calm her down with a promise to help keep her safe and to help her escape. Unfortunately, she'd been quite and withdrawn since then, even going as far as to turn in early, and now she was…

"… Where did Sayaka go?"

With a start, I quickly started looking at all of the cameras trying desperately to find the Idol. When I did though, I glared with contempt were she was headed.

"Looks like _someone_ needs a talking to."

* * *

Sayaka was distraught, lost in her despair as she walked towards the kitchen whist reviewing her plan in her head. After seeing that video, she knew in her head that she needed to get out, but to do that, she would need the death of another student on her hands. Right now, that only gave her one opinion. The only person who would willingly let her in to their room was Makoto, so as much as she wished it didn't have to come to killing off her old acquaintance from her previous school, it was the only thing she could think of on short notice.

' _I'm sorry Makoto,'_ she apologized mentally, ' _but I_ have _to get out of here, no matter the cost. I hope you can forgive me.'_

It tore her up inside even as she slowly made her way to the only place in the school that had anything close to a weapon, but she had come too far and given up too much to let these thoughts and grievances hold her back. For everything she'd worked for, he had to die. But for that to happen, she needed a weapon.

Call her morals what you will, but she was far from stupid. She knew that if she attempted anything unarmed, even with his rather lacing physique, she had no doubt that she'd be overpowered by him fairly easily. Since after he had eventually caught up to her after her freak out, he was able to hold on to her despite her panicked thrashing about, so she couldn't deny that fact.

If she was going to do the dirty deed of ending his life, she would need something to assist in the process; despite how sickening the idea was.

Shaking her head to momentarily clear her thoughts, the idol walked into the cafeteria room with a quickened pace. With nighttime just around the corner, she knew she'd have to work fast if she was going to get a kitchen knife before she ended up locked in the kitchen till morning. And considering that the rules stated sleeping anywhere other than the dorms would result in punishment, she definitely didn't want to be there all night.

Opening the doors to the kitchen, she was momentarily stunned to find the massive form of Sakura, and the swimmer Aoi were still in the kitchen. She hadn't known that they would be here at this time of night, and for a moment she was worried they had somehow caught wind of her plans beforehand. However, a quick glance in front of Asahina quickly revealed a still steaming pot and an assortment of boxes labeled for tea quickly assured her that it was just a coincidence that they'd run into each other.

"Oh, hey." The idol said with an eye closed smile, easily hiding her anxiety form the two much more physically powerful girls. "Sorry to interrupt, I just needed to get a drink before I went to bed. Something to calm the nerves, you know?"

For a moment, she felt herself tense up at their questioning gazes, terrified that they would call her bluff. Thankfully for her and her nerves, Hina nodded her head with a smile of understanding.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Sakura and I were doing the same thing. I figured if we were going to do this anyway, I'd go all out and make some Royal Milk tea. Do you want any, Maizono?"

Thankful for the tan skinned girl's naiveté, Sayaka shook her head in negative. "No thanks, I'm just going to grab a water bottle from the fridge if it's all the same to you."

Without another word, the idol walked passed them, purposefully ignoring their gazes as she did so. After grabbing a water bottle from the fridge to avoid suspicion, she slowly made her way back to the doorway, ready to swipe one of the knifes from the magnetic holster hanging above the counter top…

Only to find they were all missing.

Her eyes widened in fear and realization as a terrifying sound of grinding metal sang from across the room, startling both her and the other girls. All eyes shot over to the corner of the room were the unwanted figure of Monokuma sat, carefully sliding one of the very knives Sayaka had been looking for over a flat sharpening stand. Sitting next to their plush looking captor was the rest of the knifes, all arranged by size, the largest being held by the bear as it slowly and methodically slid the blade across the oiled stone.

As if just noticing them for the first time, the bear paused in its work to give them an almost dead panned look. "Looking for something?"

Sakura was the first to recover, stepping in front or the others in a protective stance in case the bear tried to harm one of them. "What are you doing here, Monokuma?"

"My job. What else?" the bear stated rudely before returning to its work, continuing to talk as it did so. "I don't think you quite realize this yet, but this place needs constant maintenance in order to run correctly. While the basic choirs are up for you guys to keep up with, it's my job to do literally everything else. Keeping the utensils nice, clean, and sharp at the end of the day is just one of these tasks, since I highly doubt any of you know about proper knife care."

The bear paused in its care to hold up the blade and look down the edge to see if it seemed correct, before flipping it over to work on the other side. "I know that it's a thankless job. But if I didn't do this kind of thing every other night, then you'd all just have shoddy equipment all the time. Which, I assure you, is far more frustrating than it might sound."

Taking another look at the blade, their captor nodded satisfied before wiping the blade clean of the oils and metal fragments. Then, after placing the tool down grabbed the next one in the row before starting the process again.

Despite how intimidating the sight was, Aoi took a slight step forward while still remaining slightly behind Sakura. "I-If you don't like it so much, then why don't you just let us go?"

Again the bear stopped in its work to regard her, but it returned back to its patient grinding with a sigh of frustration. "Geez, I'm starting to think water isn't the only thing in your ears. It's like I told you, the only way out of here if to ether successfully kill someone without getting caught, or to go a year without making an attempt; not even I am exempt from that, and I'm only allowed to kill rule breakers, so unless one of you breaks a rule were no one will see you die, I'm stuck here just as much as you brain hampered clods. So even if I wanted to leave, I can't unless one of you bests this game."

That certainly caught their attention. "So, even you have to follow the rules? Then we shouldn't worry about you killing anyone of us, right?"

This time the Bear didn't even look at the swimmer as it finished sharpening up another blade. "Nope, I'm not going to kill anyone, barring rule breakers, I can promise you that much. So if you find a corpse lying about, you can bet that sweet ass of yours that it wasn't directly my fault."

Though she shouted a disgruntled "Hey!" with a deep blush, Hina couldn't deny that it did give her some reassurance that they wouldn't have to worry about the bear using those knifes on them. Though it didn't stop the apprehension she felt seeing it with the bladed culinary utensils in the first place.

"Anyway, I've still got to finish fixing these up, so unless either of you know how to sharpen a blade, I'll remind you that it'll be lights out soon. If any of you wish to stay help clean up then I'll overlook the lock down for a few extra minutes; but, only a few."

The two athletes took the hint and proceeded to take their recently finished drink and headed out with their pot and cups to Aoi's room. Sayaka, however, decided to walk over to the bear and after staring at the bear in worry, slowly bend over and picked up the knives that had already been sharpened and carefully stepped back away before turning away and began putting away the bladed instruments.

As she was doing so, she occasionally glanced back at the bear to make sure it didn't notice as she slowly lifted up her shirt, ready to slip the blade into the seam of her skirt. However, it was at that moment that the bear spoke up.

"You know, if you do this you'll never be able to take it back. A simple, 'I'm sorry' won't cut it. The blood on your hands won't be something you will be able to just wash off and forget about like a little bit of dirt and grim, you will have to live with it for the rest of your life. Can you really say that you'll be okay with that?"

The cold words gripped into her soul as she clenched her hand tighter around the handle of the knife, a cold sweat ran down her face. She had known what the bear was saying was true, she had thought about such things herself. But where she could simply push the thought away before, now the bear was forcing it to the forefront of her mind.

Was she okay with this? No, she could never be fine with what she was about to do. It was murder and betrayal, plain and simple. And worst, it would be the murder of a close friend who trusted her, one who had promised to help her in her time of need.

It was like a knife twisted in her gut at the thought of it, the sweet boy who's smile could light up even the darkest of moods twisted with a look of betrayal and loathing as the light would fade from his eyes, but if she was to continue her life and rejoin her fellow Idols, then his would have to end here.

So, without a word she slipped the bladed weapon out of sight, and with a heavy heart she marched out, ignoring the sudden weight she felt and the disappointed glare she felt burrowing into her back.

* * *

I glared at her back with so much loathing. Of flipping course she would be the first one to try anything. She was the first one in the game to make an attempt then, so _obviously_ she would be the first one to attempt a murder.

In hindsight, I should have seen this coming. Of all of them, she had been the least mentally prepared for this kind of thing. She had put everything she'd had into her band, even once admitting to have done some bad things just to help them get as far as they did. After all, in such a cut throat career path that her group had taken, most people that really wanted to rise to the top had to step on a few heads to get there; sometimes even literally.

While it wasn't likely that she would have gone to such extremes as offing her competition, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility that she might have done some other reprehensible actions that went unnoticed. It was even possible that she might have even tricked or cheated it some way to boost her ratings.

Of course, that was all just speculation. As there was no proof of any form of misdeed or sabotage, then there was no need to assume so much bad about her actions.

Except, the file containing her profile said exactly what bad things she'd done to get them to the top, but I wasn't the kind of person to look at people's dirty laundry, nor do I socialize with the spooky, scary skeletons lurking in their closets.

That being said, now that she was armed, I had to pay even more attention to her movements to keep her from killing anybody.

Now you might be asking, "If you really wanted to stop her, why didn't you just get rid of the knifes in the first place?" Three reasons.

One, if I were to take away the kitchen knives, then that would mean I'd have to remove all of the forks, spoons, butter knives, pencils, keys, pillows, blankets… Basically, anything and anything a desperate person could use to kill someone. That would have caused a lot of suspicion that I didn't need brought up, and even then she could simply do something like choking someone out. So, unless I did something drastic like isolating her in her room, which goes against the rule that lets them explore the floors unhindered; with the exception of the locked off floors, of course.

Two, even if I did break my own rules after clearly telling her about how even I had to follow them, then I'd have to do the same for _all_ of the others. If I did that, it would make my words seem even less trustworthy then before, and might inspire them to do something even more reckless to escape. It would be complete anarchy trying to reign them in after that, and would likely result in some truly desperate actions.

Finally, even if she didn't try anything, Mukuro was going to be after Makoto's life from here on out. It was likely that if this hadn't happened, she would have taken him out within the next few days; provided someone else didn't kill someone else first.

Now, one could say that wasn't true considering that Mukuro didn't kill the luckster during the I.F. novel when she was alone with him in the nurse's office. But in that case, everyone knew she was watching over him at the time, so she'd be called out instantly.

Anyways, with all that in mind, I had very little doubts that little miss idol would actually kill the boy. I knew she didn't before, but just to be on the safe side I turned on the Monokuma in Makoto's room, which was incidentally under his bed, and briefly stepped out to watch the show and wait for my cue.

* * *

For the boy called the Ultimate Lucky Student, this was the worst day of his life so far. Even when he counted the day of unfortunate events that led to him joining the school he had admired so much, it still didn't measure up to the emotional turmoil going through his mind right now.

After he had tracked Maizono down after she had rightfully freaked out he had been racking his mind to think of a way to help them all escape from this school turned prison. However, aside from doing as the bear said and simply waiting it out, he hadn't been able to think of a single thing.

At first, he had considered the metal plates again, but as Sakura and Mondo could attest there was no simple way to brute force them off of the windows. Even the bolts were impossible to remove thanks to some heavy welding that locked them up tight. The door was a no go either even without the turrets mounted above the massive barrier of lead.

Briefly he considered begging, but tossed the idea as soon as it came. No way would it be so easy to escape by simply throwing away their pride like that, and plus he doubted most of them would have even agreed to accept that option anyway. He may not know much about them yet, but even he wasn't optimistic enough to think they'd all just follow along with that kind of embarrassment.

Unfortunately, even with the many other options and ideas he could be thinking of, he couldn't focus. His mind was too wrapped up in another matter.

' _Why did they kidnap Komaru?'_

There was no real gain that the mastermind could have by kidnaping her that he could see since his family was about as average in every way he was. They weren't high-class, none of them were famous, and none of them made nearly enough money to warrant kidnaping her. So, aside from getting to him for some reason, there wouldn't be a point. But, as far as he knew, he'd never had an enemy that would be willing to go to such absurd lengths to get at him for some obscure reason; he didn't even know he had an enemy to begin with!

While he was greatly concerned over his missing parents as well, he now knew that his younger sister was being held against her will like he was, only she was under threat of being killed by excessive explosive. Then there was the fact that her life was now tied to his survival that really rattled his chain. There was no telling if she was going to be alright, despite what the bear said.

The entire thing just made him want to scream in frustration at his helplessness, but he didn't since he knew it wouldn't help anyone. But, that didn't stop the tears from forming at the outer edges of his eyes.

The only solace he found in the entire situation, was that their captor seemed to have the decency to make sure they'd be well taken care of while under their watchful eye. But even that was a small comport to the great amount of anguish they were experiencing.

Just as he was about to continue his depressing thoughts further, the electronic buzz of his doorbell went off, startling him.

' _Who could that be at this hour?'_ he thought to himself, as he stood up and started making his way to the door. Despite these excruciation circumstances, he didn't have any desire to be rude to his fellow students.

Opening the door with a question of, "Who's there?" he was immediately taken aback at the sight of the blue haired idol. But as he looked closer, he could see that she under some kind of distress, clutching at the bottom of her skirt with the most disheartening look he'd seen on her face.

"M-Maizono!?" he questioned, not having expected to see her at any point that night. After she had freaked out like she did, he had assumed that she would have stayed in her room for the night. He hadn't the slightest idea of what she would be doing here at this time of night.

"Neagi, would you mind if I come in for a while?" she asked him.

* * *

I rolled my eyes as the naïve boy opened the door for the idol and let her in, wiping at his eyes when he thought she wasn't looking. The fool even closed the door behind them, making it so that their conversation wouldn't be heard from the soundproof room. And coincidentally, if either one of them died, no one would hear them scream.

… boy, that got morbid quick.

In any case, as the idol made her way over to bed and sat down, I couldn't help but groan when she started weaving a tale of someone attempting to get into her room by forcing her lock. Of course, the power of the cutesy won against any suspicion he really should have had at this point, and he not only bought it hook line and sinker, but he swallowed the hook as well.

Honestly, even I had my suspicions about her story the first time I'd heard it, but I had only believed her as well as Makoto did simply because he did. Of course, when she turned up dead in his shower the next morning, despite promising him that she wouldn't open the door for anyone, I immediately got suspicious of her. And when my suspicions of her betrayal were proven correct later, I simply shouted, "I freaking called it!"

The only thing that confused me was, why hadn't she simply stabbed him the moment he let her in and taken his key so that the others couldn't find the body. Call me cynical all you want, but if I'd been given the chance in her shoes I would have taken it the moment he turned around.

Maybe she realized that she would have been pointed out by the female athletes and decided against it, or maybe when Makoto had sworn that he would keep her safe, something in her clicked and she decided that she couldn't just kill off her only friend in this extreme situation. There was no way for me to tell.

Then, the luckster offered to let her stay in his room for the night to help keep her safe. Of course, he hadn't meant for it to sound sexual, so innocent his intentions, but that didn't stop her from insinuating.

Incidentally, that was my cue, so I had the bear crawl out from under the bed while they were lost in each other's eyes, and had the bear stare at them awkwardly until they inevitably noticed and screamed like a couple of little kids getting jump-scared while playing their first horror game. I won't lie, I got a bit of a kick out of that.

"M-Monokuma!" Makoto shouted in shocked anger as he spread his arms defensively in front of Sayaka protectively. "What is it!? What do you want!?"

I rebutted with a shout of, "Like you have to ask!" before leaning in and said with the most serious voice I could muster, "Incidentally, if you guys are planning to do something _naughty_ I can bring you some 'protection' if you'd like."

He glared at me with a fierce blush on his face and he shouted, "I don't need your kind of protection!"

"Oh so daring!" I cried back with an obviously fake shocked tone. "To think you'd be the kind of man to go straight for the raw despite the risks, you truly _must_ be completely lucky to believe that would be safe. Hope you're ready to take responsibility afterwards."

It took him a moment longer then I thought it would, but his face erupted in a full face blush at my accusations, "D-Damn it! We weren't doing anything like that!"

I gave a chuckle at his flustered face, and decided to let him off lightly. "Oh, I know. I just couldn't resist messing with you a bit. You're too much of an herbivore to do that yet. But I really do have a reason for popping in like this."

Walking around the room, I made a show of looking under the bed for something. "See, the thing is one of my personal items has gone missing, and I've been driving myself up the wall looking for it. I couldn't find it in my usual haunts, so I was thinking I might have left in in one of your rooms when I gave you guys your lifelines."

Standing the bear back up, I had the bear 'suddenly notice' the gold dusted Katana on his desk. "Oh hey! I was wondering where Peko's ol' trophy disappeared to."

"Peko?" they asked, having never heard of the name before. Turning back to them slightly, I proceeded to explain a little bit.

"Peko Pekoyama, the 'Ultimate Swordswoman' your senior by about a year. Won that beauty in the international sword fighting competition a couple years ago and donated it to the school afterwards. It's actually funny, she didn't want it because it worthless as an actual sword. Or, at least, that's what I was told."

Walking over to stand in front of the two of them, I put the bears paws on its hips and puffed out its chest. "Well, now that I know that it's safe with you, I can rest a bit easier. But, as I was saying, if anyone finds a serrated combat knife, would you kindly return it to me; preferably blood free if at all possible."

Their eyes widened at the implication, but I ignored that to hop onto the bed and turn to address them. "Any who, now that you know about my missing stuff, I gotta ask something… Any chances of getting the kid named after me?"

I immediately high tailed it out of there, laughing my head off at his embarrassed shouting. He was really to innocent for his own good if he was going to let such mild teasing get to him. I knew messing with him like I was wasn't doing his blood pressure any favors, but it was just far too much fun to stop.

With that little moment taken care of, I went back to the monitor room to see how the others were.

From how it looked, it seemed that the Mon-Taka duo were on their way back to their rooms for the night. Asahina and Sakura had bunked in Aoi's room for the night, and Sayaka convinced Makoto to switch rooms with her for the night by exploiting a loophole in the rules. Everyone else had gone to their beds for the night with the few exceptions of Toko, Yasuhiro, Leon, and Sayaka.

Toko and Leon were too stressed out to go to sleep at the moment and were trying to exercise their mind and body respectively to help relax themselves. Yasuhiro was determined to find his glass ball, and was currently looking though and under all of the desks in the classrooms, one time mentioning thinking someone was pulling a joke on him. And Sayaka was beating herself up about not having the fortitude to stab the luckster while she had the chance.

I suppressed a yawn as I watched, hands folded in front of my face as I watched the idol. Now that I knew who was most likely to be killed off in this game, I could make preparations to prevent it.

"Sorry Ms. Sayaka, but I'm not going to let any of you die tonight. Not by a long shot."


	9. Consequences of Despair

"All right, let's see which one of you guys are going to be the stupid one."

It hadn't been more than an hour since Sayaka had gone and switched rooms with Makoto, and already I was tired of her. Oh, I'd felt some sort of sympathy for her, but I had grown tired of her crying after about ten minutes. There's only so much pity I could give for a soon-to-be attempted murderer.

That depressing thought aside, after she had finished berating herself for her failed attempt on Makoto's life, she had sat there on his bed, trying to think of a new victim for her to take advantage of in her little plan of escape.

Unfortunately for her, she had spent so much time hounding Makoto as his 'assistant' that she'd barely spent any time socializing with the others. That made her chances of fooling anyone drop drastically; which is something I was rather happy about since it would make my job easier.

But, the also meant that, she would have to try and convince one of the less intelligent individuals in her desire to escape. By that I mean, she'd have to convince Leon; something she seemed to realize as well since she grabbed the notepad on Makoto's desk and started writing a note addressed to him.

Originally, after she tricked Makoto into letting him swap rooms with her, she came up with this really stupid idea of going after the Ultimate Baseball Star for some reason. Which really made no sense when you think about it. Not only was he taller than her by a good few inches, he was more physically fit, he had to have an unbelievable reaction time considering his sport, and while he was a slacker, he was better than most athletes to be able to hit near perfect games without ever visiting a training match.

Needless to say, as much as I don't like his attitude towards life, I couldn't see Sayaka's reasoning in trying to take on someone like Leon in a one on one confrontation with his much stronger and able form. But, I guess was they say about desperation causing reckless actions is more true than you'd think.

"And right now, she's the most desperate one here." I hated my pessimism right now, but it was true. While the others were certainly upset, they seemed too afraid of their important persons being harmed to risk trying anything.

Not Sayaka it seems, however. As she walked out of the rooms, I watched as she immediately turned around and started to work on switching the nameplates on both her and Makoto's doors. Briefly, I considered swapping them back while she wasn't looking, but when I considered that she might just switch them again, I decided to scrap that idea to let events unfold. At least, for the moment.

As I expected, once she finished making the switch, she was quick to slip the letter under the door of Leon's dorm room before hastily knocking on the door, and hightailing it back to Makoto's room to wait for her pray. It was then that I decided to intervene a bit.

Walking back into the console room, I turned on the Monokuma in the all-star's room to hear him finish reading the note that would lead to his damnation.

"…check the nameplate so you don't visit the wrong room by mistake, okay? Sayaka Maizono. Huh, that's really weird. Why would she want to see me this late?"

Taking that as my cue, I had the bear slowly creep up behind him and whispered, "Maybe, she's after your D."

I'll admit, watching him scream like a girl as he turned around was just as funny as ever. For a brief moment, he looked absolutely frantic, like a punk mouse noticing the cat for the first time, but once he realized it was my Monokuma and not some person out to get him his fear quickly swapped over to indignant rage.

" _What_ ," he paused to clear his throat when his voice cracked, "What are you doing here!"

Ignoring his question, I continued with my little taunting session, "A little late night rendezvous with the wannabe musician, is it? Oh, what kind of shameful things could she be planning for our little all-star? Maybe she wants to give you a taste of the musical arts, or maybe she's planning a little game of 'hanky-panky'… or do you think she's hoping to introduce you to a good old rousing game of _shank the moron_. Now _that_ sounds like a grand time!"

I watched with a silly grin as his face slowly morphed from slightly hopeful, to red with embarrassment and a little bit of lust, to outright pale and disturbed at the implication of such a game. Even though I was being completely serious about that last one being the most likely outcome if he actually went to meet with her, it didn't stop me from appreciating the colorful show he was putting on.

Finally, he settled on an indigent glare, almost sneering at the bear in front of him as he held his fists up in a display of bravado. "You're not funny man!"

To which I responded appropriately with, "I'm trying, damn it! If you don't like it so much, kill someone and we can both be happy!"

Now, I hadn't meant to snap at him like that, really I didn't. But, his attitude was only going to make things more difficult for me in the long run.

While he was trying to regain his bearings after my sudden shift in tone, I took a brief moment to glance around at his abode. As I expected, it was as bare as the others but with the few additions of a boom mic, a stereo, a few … questionable magazines poking out from underneath his bed, and a single baseball he'd left on the floor. Most likely a memento from his former class judging by the number of names scribbled on it.

Turning back to him, I decided to continue our original conversation. "So, you aren't planning to actually go to her, are you? I mean, there's really no telling what kind of things she might do to you. You know that, right?"

I knew asking him to not go was next to impossible considering that reasonable lack of trust he and the others had for Monokuma, but that didn't stop me from trying to dissuade him from going. See, my thought was that if I could keep him from actually going, then Sayaka wouldn't have a chance to make a murder attempt. Then, when morning rolls around, Leon could then show the letter off to the others and with some assistance from Kyoko and yours truly, she'd be under a tighter watch than ever before. With any luck, it would also cause the others to decide against murder themselves.

Unfortunately for all involved, Leon wasn't going to make it easy for me. Scoffing at the bear, he said, "Yeah right, like she'd ever try to hurt anyone. Have you even seen her? She wouldn't hurt a fly."

I had to resist the returning urge to groan, "I wouldn't be so sure of that. Haven't you heard of 'a face for the public'? A façade that famous people use to lead the crowd to make them seem perfectly innocent when in reality they are anything but."

At first, it seemed like I was getting nowhere, his glare remaining in place. Then, after a while of his staring contest with the monochrome bear, his glare slowly shifted to a more thoughtful expression. "Y-Yeah, I _guess_ I've heard of that."

I could tell it was killing him inside to admit that I had a point, but I needed to hammer it in as best I could. "Then, you should know that there's a high chance that right now, she's in there plotting your demise right now. You saw how much more worst she reacted to that video then the others did, you can't deny that she's desperate to escape; possibly at any cost."

I could practically see the doubt in the pop idol growing behind his eyes, but he wasn't going to just blindly follow my words at face value. "What about Makoto?"

"What about him?" I asked back, kind of glad that he was actually thinking beyond what he was told a face value.

"If she's planning to get out by… by m-murdering someone," He paused to swallow the lump forming in his throat. "Then wouldn't he be the better option?"

Taking a moment to make the Monokuma pose as if it was in deep thought, I then had it signal for him to continue. After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, and to wipe off some of the perspiration forming on his brow, he explained. "I-I mean, it's not that I want him to die or anything like that, but I mean, he's been much closer to her then I have. And if I was her and I wanted out as bad as you say, then I'd probably go after him first, ya know, since he's so close. N-Not that I would, but as an idea."

I had to admit, I was impressed with his ability to rationalize that out. I'd thought he would have just brushed my words aside, possibly throw in a good "F you" or something, then stormed off to his fate without a care. Maybe there was more to this punk then I'd first thought.

I was about to congratulate him for thinking ahead, when an idea popped up in my head. "… Who's to say she hasn't?"

"Huh?" he blinked, trying to see where I was going with this. I continued.

"Who's to say she didn't think about killing him first. I mean, as you said, he's so close to her right now. So it could be that she's already done away with him. Then there's a possibility that she wants you to come help 'clean house' as it were."

His eyes widened as he started sputtering, his brain trying to reboot from the overwhelming shock my statement caused him, but I wasn't done. "I mean; you were there when she tried to cart him off the first time. You _know_ she isn't strong enough to drag him by herself without a bit of muscular assistance. And she already knows that you're the kind of guy who'd blindly help her if she bats her eyes and acts cute. Not to mention, she's already seen you lift Makoto before. Why, if anything you're the _perfect_ stooge she could use to help hide someone's corpse till it's too late."

I could practically see all of the blood leaving his face as the suggestion, but still I kept hammering away at everything he thought true. "Of course, the other option is just as valid. Maybe she's invited you over to kill you and pin it on Makoto. Again, as you said, they're close. There's a chance that she'll use that to her advantage. Then, once you're dead, all she'd have to do if anyone asks is say that she saw the two of you fighting over her before he whipped out a knife. Wouldn't take much for the others to fill in the blanks and poor Makoto would be so broken by her betrayal that he wouldn't be able to properly defend himself. Sound about right yet?"

My words seemed to deeply shake him, sweat practically pouring down his face. It had never occurred to him that such terrible things could be possible, these sick, twisted ideas being presented to him that he'd never would have even considered in his simple life as a baseball star. But, this wasn't his simple life, now was it?

However, just when I thought I'd managed to scare him off from going to his doom, he violently shook his head, as if to physically remove the thoughts from his mind, before glaring at me inconvincibly.

"A-As if! You think you can fool me like that!? I-I might not know why she wants me to come over, but there's no way it's for anything like that. She's diffidently too kind to do something like… like killing someone. And, maybe she wants to… I don't know, do some musician training with me or something. I mean, I've said up and down how much I want to be a punk rocker. She probably just wants to help me out with it a bit, help get her mind off all this."

Seemingly having finally gotten his big boy britches back, he stepped right up to the robotic-bear and glared deep into its optics. "So you know what? I'm going to go talk with her right now, find out what she wants, and we're going to have a good time without any of this murder nonsense!"

So, without letting me get a word in edgewise, he stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him, leaving my Monokuma and the note behind in his room. After spending a moment to stand there speechless, I slapped my palm to my forehead in exasperation.

"Dang it, I pushed him to hard." I conferred with myself, feeling utterly stupid in that moment. I had been so in my role and trying to scare him away that I'd pushed him from terror into frustration. In the heat of the moment, I'd forgotten that the best way I could have done to scare him away would have been if I'd been subtle with my hints. Yet, instead of letting his mind do the work for me with a few loaded words, I'd hammered away on my own and made him impatient with me.

Well, fortunately I could still work with this. Returning the Monokuma to standby mode and quickly sprinting back out to the monitor room, I quickly tuned in on Makoto's room to prepare for the show, waiting for my moment to intervene.

As I'd figured, my time holding up Leon had caused Sayaka to go into a worried tizzy, clutching the knife handle like it was her last life line as she tried to pump herself up unsuccessfully. Likely, she was right now scared out of her mind with a fear that he was just going to not show. It _was_ a rather suspicious note she'd given him, and if he'd had even the slightest amount of sense in this situation, he wouldn't have gone. Instead, he would have waited for the morning and confronted her about it with witnesses. Yet, as the buzzer went off and alerted her to his arrival, I didn't need to be a genius to tell you that he didn't necessarily have much in the way of sense.

Watching him throw open the unlocked door, Sayaka then flinched back at the form of Leon standing in the doorway, his face still showing signs of frustration. Obviously to me, he hadn't managed to completely calm himself down from our little chat. Thankfully for the idol, before he managed to real in the rest of his irritation she was able to hide the blade behind her back and out of his sight.

"Sorry I'm late," He apologized, wandering into the room at an almost agonizing pace. "I had an unwanted pest to take care of first. You know how that damn bear is."

There was not verbal response to his statement, thought I did fume a bit to no one's view, but I did note the tightening of her grip on the knife. As I couldn't see her expression from her long hair shadowing her face, I could only assume that she was either upset for my interference, or more likely she was afraid that I'd revealed her plan to him already.

Clearly not seeing her expression for what it really was, though noticing her silence Leon took a few more steps into the room; but with a noticeably slower stride. "Y-Yeah, he kept making these stupid jokes of his. Would you believe he actually said you'd might have killed Neagi?"

Her breath hitched at that, and if her grip tightened any further I almost would be afraid of her snapping the handle in two. I could practically see the sweat pouring down her face and along her clenched hands.

Though, Leon was unaware of this. He was too busy not-so-subtly glancing about the room, as if looking for a corpse of said lucky student, before shaking his head. "Yeah right, like you'd ever do something like that. You are _way_ too nice and stuff to do something that bad."

For a brief moment, I could have sworn that I'd seen a flash of light pass in front of Sayaka's feet. A single drop of something that I would later swear could have been a drop of shame and sorrow personified as an innocent little teardrop. A tear shed, for the innocence that would be dying on this very night.

"… Sayaka?" I wasn't the only one who'd seen the falling droplet, as Leon stopped his nervous glances to look at her with the most concerned look I'd ever seen on his face. His body straightening up as he slowly continued towards her with the obvious intent to comport her.

Which was immediately replaced with wild-eyed, fearful backpedaling when she sloppily swung the large chef's knife at his throat, trimming a few hairs off of his goatee as it missed its intended target.

"S-Sayaka!?" he repeated with a much louder and startled tone as he bumped up against the dresser with his hand flying up to his neck where she'd just missed him, the other supporting his weight on the furniture. He stared with wide, fearful eyes at her now revealed face. Her stare was filled with a combination of regret, murderous intentions, and complete despair as she clutched her weapon in her shaking grip. However, the most noticeable feature she sported was the wet trail running down her reddened cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she apologized with shaken breaths raking her form. "But, I've got to get out of here. I _need_ to get out of here. I can't… I can't just sit here and wait it out. I have to get out… even if it means…"

She shuttered as a sob broke her poise again, the torturous anguish of her emotional roller coaster of despair spiraling further out of her control with every straining breath. Her mind, awash with turmoil as she stared down her target with contempt waiting for her chance to strike out and bath her blade in his life blood.

Leon, for his part was trying to back away from his attacker through the wooden dresser, eyes still locked on the crazed girl as she shivered and shook. As his hands fumbled around behind him for something to defend himself with, there was a sense of internal conflict as he internally swore at himself for not listening to Monokuma's warnings. Oh, he was far from actually thankful that the bear had even tried to help him, considering it was the its fault for stirring the hornets' nest in the first place, but the warning was appreciated.

Suddenly, his fingers brushed up against something solid and his eyes instinctually snapped to see what he'd found. This was the moment Sayaka decided that she couldn't wait any longer and started to rush toward him with the blade tip aimed right for his abdomen. As she moved with a loud shout for him to die, he panicked, turning back to her with the long object in hand and intercepting the utensil with a load crack.

Immediately noticing her failure to stab his fleshy stomach, the crazed Idol pulled back to see what she'd hit, only to double take at the sight of the gold covered wooden katana that she'd helped Makoto retrieve a few days prior, only now with a rather sizable gap carved deep into the sheath. Briefly, she considered the irony that the very thing she'd had Makoto take in order to protect her was now being used to protect someone _from_ her, but instead she felt irritation at it delaying what she felt was inevitable.

Leon let out a side of relief at his luck, though he did wonder why she'd have such a thing in the first place, he was too happy to be alive to care about the convenience of the prop weapon to care to question it too much. Now armed as well, he turned back to her with a little more confident in his survival.

"O-Okay Maizono," he stuttered, holding the wooden blade defensively in front of him as he tried to dissuade her. "L-Let's talk about this."

Unfortunately for him, she was too far gone to consider his words as she attempted to rush him once more with an overhead strike. Swearing loudly, he dove over to one side allowing her to nick the table and drive a large tear in the carpet. Not willing to let up, the crazed girl pushed off the ground and tried to drive the blade into his skull while he was down.

It was only his quick reflexes built from dodging tags from opposing ball players that allowed him to push away from his prone position and let him knock the blade to the side when she tried a follow up slice at him in the air.

I could feel the nerves in my body tighten in fear for the two classmates as they continued their stumbling dance of death, Leon purely on the defensive as the idol wildly swung the large chef's knife with the intent to end his life. Every time I watched a swing just barely avoid slicing through flesh, only to carve into the flooring, walls or occasionally the bedding when he used it as a springboard to move out of her range. I felt chills whenever I'd catch a glimpse of her teary face marred with the single most murderous glare I'd ever seen on a persons face.

I really wanted to intervene with this, I really did. Every swipe she made caused an unbelievable amount of tension that I just wanted to end, to call off this ridiculous fight and just let them go, but I couldn't. As much as I loathed myself for thinking like this, I needed their fight to escalate to the point that Sayaka would retreat, hide away in Makoto's bathroom with the wonky door frame, and for Leon to leave the room. Once that was accomplished, I planned to keep her there and away from the all-star for the rest of the night.

Once morning came, I could then use the recorded video to warn the others of what happened. While I had no dilutions of them all being understanding of her desperate act, I knew at least pure hearted Makoto would try to help her in her time of distress, and with a little time and care, I honestly believe that Sayaka could be saved from her own despair.

However, that required that Leon stop dodging, and start countering.

"Okay, that's it." As if answering my thoughts, the now frustrated redhead pulled a surprisingly brilliant move. After dodging yet another swipe, he ripped the golden painted blade out of its sheath, gold specks sent flying as they broke away from the cheap wood, and then with a pitch worthy of his title, he hurled the empty sheath at the crazy idol.

Caught off guard, Sayaka was only able to bring up her arm in defense against the chunk of wood flying at her head, but in doing so she was unable to retain her balance against the force of it smacking against her forearm. With her off balance, Leon rushed forward with the wooden katana cocked back in a batting stance, ready to homerun the blade out of the room and more importantly, out of the idol's grasp.

If I were to guess what his thought were at that moment, it would most likely be something along the lines of being able to properly talk to her if the knife was gone, preferably away from him and his vitals.

Unfortunately for all involved, in his haste to remove the blade from her possession he ended up forgetting that he was _not_ swinging at a fairly easy to track ball with a thick bat, but an unpredictably moving human beings arm with a much thinner stick of wood. That had to be the case because there was no other reason he should have had for not only missing his mark, but slamming the dull edged weapon into her wrist with the audible sound of a newly snapped wrist accompanied by a shriek of unbelievable pain.

"Shit! I'm sorry!" Cried out the all-star as Sayaka dropped to her knees, unable to register his apology through both the squealing nerves in her arm and her own shouts of anguish. I cringed as I looked at the damage, the whole thing was already swelling and underneath the glitter of gold that had chipped off on impact, the joint had gained a deep purple hue. Broken was an understatement.

On the plus side though, with her dominate hand unusable she had dropped the knife, thus leaving her with little to no chance of killing anyone, much less the wannabe punk. Downside, in her agony induced realization of this fact, she pushed past the pain before her fight response turned to a flight one and she grabbed the blades handle in her remaining good hand. Ignoring Leon's shout for her to stop, she hurriedly rushed for the door to the bathroom.

"Kya!" Only to the surprise of all when her attempt to push past the door, the framework refused to give her even an inch, resulting in her colliding with the wood and falling on her behind. My eyebrows shot straight into my hairline, as did Leon's, neither of us expecting that to happen in the slightest, but before I could truly understand what exactly had happened, the red head noticed something.

"Sayaka! Your bleeding!" Taking a glance at her myself, I felt my heart try to jump into my throat at the sight of a growing red spot in her side where she'd been cut into. I guess she accidentally stabbed herself when she hit the door full on. Luckily, it only seemed to be a nick considering the small amount of blood on the knife, but that didn't stop the lump from forming.

But that raised the question. "Why didn't she just open the door?" Even when saying it out loud it made no sense. With the exception of a few hiccups here and there, things had been exactly how things were implied to have gone in the original. She invites him over, he shows like an idiot, defends himself and brakes her wrist, then she hides in the bathroom where the wonky frame holds him off till he ruins the knob with his tool kit.

So then, what happened this time? Why did she just run into the door when she always opened it in, not just the original storyline, but in _every single story_ they've been in. Hell, she should be the only one besides myself and Makoto to know it's trick…

"Unless…Makoto forgot to tell her about it… because I told him a week ago, and interrupted him before he could tell her himself!" I felt the blood in my veins turn to ice at the realization. Once again, my scattered attention span act I was trying to pull with Monokuma ruined things. By interrupting the conversation in the way I did, I must have unintentionally caused him to forget about it, if only momentarily.

Now that I think about it, that door had been the entire reason for Monokuma's visit in the first place. Junko hadn't remembered to tell him about the door in the beginning. Rather, she only did it when Sayaka had been in the room, likely because she had only just realized the problem he'd been having just then. That, or she was thinking one of them would use it to hide a body where no one could easily find it.

But now, as she clearly demonstrated by planting her face in the door, Sayaka had no clue as to what to fall back on, and no place that she could hide when things went south. So when Leon tried to get close to her, only to jump back at her panicked swipe that almost put her to the floor from lack of balance, I could actually feel sorry for her; to an extent. But even more, I felt like dropping an anvil on my head from my own forgetfulness ruining my plans before I could even think of them.

"Oh, I really screwed up this time." I berated myself, clawing at my scalp as I pushed my palms into my face. Now there was no telling what was going to happen, every plan I had was ruined before I could implement….

What the hell am I thinking?

"S-Stay away!" Snapping back to the screen, I was just in time to witness Sayaka, after managing to get back to her feet, once more swipe her weapon at the boy. She was off by a mile, but it didn't stop the small droplets of blood from sliding off to spatter on his shirt. Of course, this sudden movement caused the new cut in her side to flare up, resulting her instinctually trying to clutch it with her free hand; the broken one.

As another screech of pain burst from her lips, but this time she knew that she wasn't in any condition to continue the fight. So, despite the shout for her to stop by the all-star, she quickly rushed out of the room, kicking the door shut as she ran to momentarily stall Leon.

Now she was not only armed, she was loose in the halls with a bad injury to boot. There was no telling what she'd do to someone it that state. To paraphrase an old saying, "the only thing more dangerous than a cornered animal, is one that's been injured."

The only good thing in this was that, at least she won't be able to find someone to…

My thoughts were cut off when I heard the sound of something large hitting the floor emit from one of the cameras. I really didn't want to see what was happening, I really didn't. I knew it would be something that I wouldn't be able to ignore, nor would I be able to forget. But, my knee jerk reaction betrayed me, and after a moment to burn the image into my mind, I rushed for the door while grabbing my master E-handbook as I went. Uncaring that what I was doing could compromise everything, i was to busy praying that I'd be able to make it on time.

* * *

' _Got to get away. Can't let him kill me._ '

This desperate thought fueled Sayaka's movement as she ran from the room of the boy she once saw as a friend, fear mixed with a large amount of adrenaline fueling her steps and dulling her pain briefly. She had no destination in mind as she ran, nor did she really care. She just wanted to get away. Away from the pain. Away from the guilt of what she'd nearly did. Away from all of this.

But, most of all, she wanted to get away from the boy she'd attempted to murder. Tears rushed down her face even more at the thought, stinging her eyes and blurring her sight, but she didn't dare wipe them off for fear of ether agitating her broken wrist or cutting herself again with the knife she'd takin to stab someone. The irony that she had only ended up cutting herself with it was not lost on her.

Blinking out the salty liquid as best she could, she tried to stop the flow with thought alone. Unfortunately, thinking of why they were there in the first place, only caused more to come forth. What made it worst, was the knowledge of what would happen because of her screw up.

Even if she managed to find a place to hide from Leon till the morning came, there was no way he wouldn't tell the others about her betrayal. And with her broken wrist, there would be no way for her to stop them from whatever punishment they decided for her. But, the worst part would be when Makoto found out what she'd tried to do to him.

She had not only planned to kill him, she attempted to kill someone and pin it on him when she had failed. She'd used him and tried to hurt him just so that she could escape instead of waiting for release to be given to her like the others were doing. She could only imagine the look of betrayal on his face when he realized what she'd done to him. The same look she'd seen several times before and would likely see many more times if she survived the night.

Again the tears reinforced themselves to blind her more, but she didn't care. She could only continue to force herself to move forward in a vain attempt to hide and hope this all blows over till the morning.

Unfortunately, it would not come to pass, as just as she was rounding the corner to try and hide in the laundry room she ended up colliding with something and getting knocked back to the floor. With her eyes blurry she was unable to see what she'd crashed into, but she was more concerned with the sudden spike of pain in her arm and side from the rough landing.

Gritting her teeth behind pursed lips, Sayaka gingerly held the bruised appendage as she looked it over once more. Instantly a grimace covered her face at the state of her injury, gold specks still coating the purple skin doing nothing to make it seem appealing. It was differently broken, even without medical training she could see that.

A glance at her side didn't make her feel any better, blood having leaked out in a worrying quantity and staining her white blouse with a disturbingly long line of red. It didn't help that there was a feeling of light headedness going on now that she had time to notice it. No doubt, if she didn't get it treated soon, she'd blead to death before Leon even had a chance to try to kill her himself.

However, that raised a question of, where did she drop the knife? It only took a second to look forward to give her an answer; just not one she wanted.

Sitting in front of her, groaning in pain, was the sight of someone she hadn't expected to see that night, laying down and clutching their side. But, when she looked close at their side, her own blood ran cold at the sight of the very blade she'd been looking for lodged about a quarter of its length in his side. She realized that it must have gotten stabbed in there when she'd had her crash.

She didn't know how long she sat there, simply staring at the growing red spot on her fellow student's clothes, but she didn't have time to ponder to much before there was a sudden shot of pain lance in the side of her neck. As consciousness slowly faded from her, one thought crossed her mind.

' _I'm sorry…'_

* * *

I gazed down at the blue haired girl before me with panting breaths and an irritated gaze, feeling fatigued from the run down the several flights of stairs after forcing all of the shutters to open on my way. Not an easy feat as you can imagine, but made more difficult by the slow pace of each shutter. In my need to reach the two classmates, I had impatiently dived underneath each one as soon as a could manage to fit. Sure, it caused me to end up rolling down one of the stairs, and I'm fairly certain that I had bruised a rib when I'd collided with a wall, but it was worth it to stop her from getting any farther.

Looking over at the bleeding boy on the ground though, I couldn't help the feeling of regret for not coming sooner. If I hadn't hesitated, or if I had planned better this might not have happened.

As I moved towards the man with a brown bush worth of hair, I was interrupted in my checking of his pulse by the sound of shoes franticly smacking against the floor. Turning to look at the source of the sound revealed the haggard form of Leon skidding to a halt not too far from me. He stared at me for a second, but was quick to dismiss me when he saw the two next to me.

"Maizono, Hiro! What happened to you?" He rushed over to the fortune teller, worry in his voice as he caught sight of the knife lodged in the elder student's side. When it looked like he was going to pull it out, I quickly interrupted by grabbing his wrist.

"Don't touch," He turned to me with an angry expression, but I powered though before he could interrupt. "it's the only thing keeping him from bleeding out right now. You pull it before we're ready, then you can wish him bye-bye."

Swallowing his rebuttal, the red head slowly relented. Nodding in satisfaction, I moved close and quickly checked the heart monitor on Hiro's wrist. Just as I thought, there was still a steady pulsing coming from the band signifying his living status, but it was noticeably slower than it should be.

"Not much time." I muttered turning back to the confused and worried all-star with a look that demanded no questions. "I need your jacket, now."

He was momentarily stunned by my abruptness, but he complied anyway and shrugged off the coat before handing it to me. Nodding in thanks, I then procced to grab hold of one of the rip in sleeves from his time fighting Sayaka and tore it into a long strip; much to the chagrin of the boy.

"What was that for?" he asked, miffed that I had torn up one of his jackets right in front of him. Rolling my eyes, I continued to shred the thing while explaining my actions.

"Well, I needed something to stop the blood. It was either this, or your pants. So, which is worst; walking around in a shirt, or walking around in your underwear?" There wasn't a vocal reply, but the ruby blush on his face answered me clear as day. Ignoring it, I returned my attention to the protruding knife.

Looking closer, I could see that Hagakure had been really fortunate all things considered. While, yes, there was a knife stabbed in him, it hadn't been dug too deeply in. Mostly thanks to that hobo jacket that he always wore acting as an unintended shield. Furthermore, because of a combination of size difference and lack of intent from his attacker, the wound was located right along the top of his hip. Not necessarily lethal, but defiantly worrying. Finally, he had a smaller amount of blood on his temple from where Sayaka's crash caused him to hit his head on the door frame of the laundry room.

Taking hold of the knife in one hand and turning to Leon, I swallowed my trepidation as best I could. "Leon, come here. I need some help."

He didn't immediately move, uncertainty all over his face, but thankfully his desire to help overrode his fears and doubts in this stranger before him. Walking closer, he looked to me, completely lost on what he could do to help save the hobo fortune teller. Fortunately, I knew just what needed to be done.

"Okay, now, when I pull this out, I need you to apply pressure to his wound till I can wrap it up. It's going to be messy, but it should hold till we can get him to the nurse's office. I'll also need you to carry him there…"

"Wait." He interrupted, looking a bit miffed that he would be doing the heavy lifting. "Why am I the one who's got to carry him?"

I gave him the most deadpanned expression I could, then replied, "Because, not only are you're the only one between us that has the physical mass and strength to do that, I'm going to be doing the same for Sayaka over there once we've got him patched up. And before you ask, yes, I know what I'm doing. Now if you wouldn't mind shutting up for five minutes, we'll be able to save them before Mono-prick shows up to stop us."

Oh, I knew it was low of me to imply that the bear even could do anything to stop us, when I was in fact the "Mastermind", but if it got him to stop wasting precious time then so be it.

And it worked, as with a worried glance over his shoulder he moved into position next to me to do his part. Nodding at his move, I carefully gripped the knife and after taking a quick breath to steady my rampaging heartbeat, I quickly and cleanly pulled the blade free and moved over to grab one of the longer strips of ruined cloth while he held the pressure.

Moving quickly, I quickly started wrapping the strips tightly around his injury, ignoring the pained grunt from my patent as I did so. After rapping on a few more for good measure and checking for consistent pressure, I gave a nod of approval and started making my way over to Sayaka. Just as I was about to kneel down to check on her, however, I was halted by a grip on my wrist.

Glancing back, I was only partially surprised to see Leon was the one holding me back, and even though he was looking away at the time, I could see the troubled expressions on his face. No doubt he was concerned with the idea of helping someone who'd tried to kill him moments ago. Regardless, I wasn't in the mood to deal with his insecurities and fears.

It was like a switch had been flicked in my mind. No longer did I have time to second guess myself, nor did I have the luxury of sitting back and listening to his complaints or concerns. I had lives on the line.

So, before he could try a talk me out of this, I took a step closer to him to bring my elbow next to my hip, then after tightening the muscles in my arm and turning my hand into a knife shape, I quickly removed his hand with a quick rotation of the hips, and broke his grip through his fingers.

"I don't know what happened between you two." I lied though my teeth at his shocked expression. "And I don't know what you're thinking right now. But, no matter what you think of things here, I will not allow anyone to die without a fair trial. Death, should never be the first answer. After all, you can't properly answer for things you did when you die."

I didn't bother looking his way again. There was no need. I had a student to save first.

Once again, I couldn't help but examine the wound that the student had sustained. With her blouse in the way, I couldn't get a proper guess as to its location, but judging by the bloody trail, it was carved along the base of her rib cage. Not as dangerous as Hiro's, but still very bad; especially since hers had been open for a good while as she ran around.

Checking her pulse with her band revealed what I'd feared. She wasn't too well off, her pulse just above what could be considered dangerous. If I didn't do something she'd die. Not on my watch.

Working quickly, I managed to take the last few parts of Leon's jacket and tightly wrapped her up. It was a bit more difficult, unlike Hiro who was still leaning against the wall she was laying down, I had to prop her back up against my knee to hold her up enough to work, but it worked. Soon, I had her wrapped up and ready to go.

"All right, up ya go." Carefully picking her up in a bridal carry, I turned to Leon who'd picked the heavy adult up by gripping the shoulders of the green coat for a body drag, and nodded to him in acknowledgement. "Let's go, but slowly; we don't want to jostle them too much."

"Yeah." He replied forlornly, shifting to accommodate for the weight before we started making our way down the hallways with blooded victims in tow.

It was silent for a few minutes, just the four of us walking through the corridor of the school. Two supported or held by the others while we walked what might as well have been a death march from the gloom hanging overhead. No words were said, not that they needed to be. We were focused on the task of saving, not one, but two lives.

Yet, I felt strangely numb as we walked towards the med bay. As if, what I was doing was pointless in my heart; As if, there was no part of me that wanted to continue to help save these two characters from their demise, despite my mind telling me that it was the right thing to do.

Part of me said, "They aren't important. Why would they be? They're just fictional people, no more important than the thousands of other make believe characters made any day of the week. Hell, one of them was _designed_ to die already, and the other ones a hopeless hobo in crippling debt with the mob who's pointless in the grand scheme of things. Why bother helping them?"

Yet, even though I heard this, I looked at the girl weighing my arms down as she struggled to keep fighting to remain alive. I could hear her shuttering breaths as her lungs drew in air to keep her life going. I could feel the warmth of her body pressed against mine and the weight she possessed as I held her. I could faintly smell her sweat mixed in with that of her light perfume and her blood as it seeped into my hoodie ever so slowly.

This wasn't just some character anymore. This was a real person now, and one that my stupidity had caused to be hurt like this. It may have been her rashness that contributed, but it was my motive that kick started this affair. Now her life, and the life of her classmate rested in my hands.

It was time to set some things right.

"So, uh, where we going again." Leon asked me, seemingly to have grown tired of the silence in my musings. Glancing back to him, I answered truthfully.

"The nurse's office. The wraps won't hold for long, we need actual bandages. Not to mention the disinfectant, a blood transfusion for both of them, and we might need to give them stitches if they're as bad off as I think they might be."

He looked at me over his shoulder confused, before asking, "Wait, isn't that one of the rooms that were locked up? I'm pretty sure we all tried to get in at some point."

Nodding in confirmation, I explained. "They were, but I was able to get that damn bear to open it for the night, just in case."

His brow raised skeptically, "How'd you manage that?"

"Believe me, it wasn't as easy as it sounds." I fibbed again with a roll of my eyes. "I had to make Monokuma think that I was going to use it in a plot to kill someone. It took me three hours to convince him, but I did it. He only demanded that if he did this, I would have to say that he was only doing it on a whim not because a pretty girl asked him, the bastard."

His eyes widened at my ruse, but he seemed to fall for it. "Holy cow man. Any chance of that working again?"

I shook my head, "Not likely. Med bays are a basic community, but they also have one of the larger amount of things that can kill someone. What can heal can also be used to hurt. I think that's the only reason it worked in the first place; the irony of being killed in a room used to save lives? That kind of despair is just the kind of thing the sicko revels in."

A shutter ran down his spine, but he agreed as we continued our trek. In actuality, I'd unlocked it that morning after the motive had been given out. I had planned to knock out Sayaka while she was hiding in Makoto's bathroom and lock her up in the med bay. Just strap her into one of the beds and we would have had no reason to worry.

But using it for its intended purpose works too.

Coming upon the door, I stopped and looked back at the all-star expectantly. When he just stood there, I gestured to the door with my head. "Well?"

Getting the message, he quickly grabbed the doorknob and pulled open the door, being careful not to drop his passenger as he did. Thanking him, I walked in and immediately placed Sayaka on the closest of the hospital beds in the room. Letting Leon drag our other friend to the next one over, I decide to get to work.

First thing first, I needed to dress the wound properly. Like I said, the shredded coat was a place holder, it'd steam the follow of blood for a while, but not for long. So, after quickly washing my hands, I started pulling open drawer after cabinet looking for the necessary items for dressing a wound.

On the plus side, I found them all in only a few tries. A few of the bandages and gauze pads were in the top drawers, there was a specially made spool of unopened thread for stitching them up if needed wrapped in plastic, and jars of cotton balls, tongue depressors, etc. where all next to the sink, ready to use.

Down side, they were almost all Monokuma brand made. Every damn thing that had any sort of label on it had a picture of that freaky bear's face slapped on somewhere. Not really something I felt safe using to save a life.

Eh, beggars can't be choosers.

Grabbing two of every tool I felt I needed, I turned towards Leon and placed his half on one of two sanitary trays before moving each to a rolling table next to the beds. Looking to him, I said with the utmost seriousness. "I'm going to need your help."

* * *

Of all the things Leon had expected to hear today, that certainly wasn't one of them. "Huh? My help?"

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as the strange red eyed woman suddenly glared at him. "Yeah, dingus. _Your_ help. I can only patch up one of them at a time. I need you to help take care of Hiro while I fix up Sayaka. Think you can do that?"

He wasn't sure where this confidence in him was coming from, especially since he couldn't remember ever meeting this person before in his life, but he felt he should stop this before it got too far. "Look man, I'd like to help, but I don't know anything about that doctoring stuff. What if I mess up? I- "

"It's not a problem," the hooded person interrupted, irritated and impatient. But when he flinched back, their eyes seemed to soften. "Look, I'll talk you through it. I know it's a bit terrifying at first, but I need you to help me here, or they _will_ die. I don't know about you, but I'd rather try to save their lives and risk failure, then not try and just let it happen."

For a while, Leon didn't say anything. Left speechless by this woman's devotion to both saving the lives of his classmate and their willingness to trust him of all people to help in doing so. If he were to be honest with himself, it was rather inspiring. It also had an invigorating effect on him that allowed him to swallow his trepidations and nodding in agreement.

"Okay, now I'm going to have to pull the privacy curtain closed between us, but we'll be in constant contact. Do not be afraid to ask me anything." The red head nodded, with a spoken word of agreement. Though he did admit to himself that he felt a little bit worried that he wouldn't be able see this person as he worked, the knowledge that they wouldn't just up and leave him with a bloody body helped calm his nerves a bit.

Watching the curtain close the boy turned to the adult high school classmate with feelings of stress. In a few minutes, Leon's hands would be working to save this man's live. In all honesty the thought terrified him deeply. Never in his life had he had to worry about anyone else's future then his own, and now he was expected to patch up this guy he barely knew.

However, if he messed this up, then it would be _his_ life on the line. Yeah, there was a chance he could 'graduate' from this if it happened, but he really didn't want to risk it. Especially considering the crazy bear running this show.

"You ready over there?" came the call of the person behind the curtain, snapping him back to reality. Shaking his head once to clear the cobwebs of doubts, he replied with a shaky, "Yeah." and moved to stand next to the one everyone thought was some kind of hobo.

"First, you're going to need to put on the gloves and the little white mask. They already have enough on their plate, the don't need infections on top of that." Looking on the table Leon quickly fount the items in question and went to put them on. There was a bit of a hassle getting the mask on with his goatee, but he managed.

"Got 'um" He called over, his voice slightly muffled by the mask.

"Good. Now I take the scissors and cut open his shirt. Once you finish, do the same with his wrappings. They just be in the way of your work. When you're done tell me how bad it looks." Grumbling a bit since those so called "wrappings" were once parts of his coat, the baseball hater did as he was told. He didn't cut up the hobo coat though. With how much Hiro kept asking for money, there was no way he had more than one of the darn things.

Now that the shirts were out of the way, Leon could see the full damage dealt by the blue haired idol, and he couldn't help but cringe at the sight. It was pretty deep, the wound dug right into the man's hip at an angle that made the baseball star queasy just looking at it. Plus, now that it wasn't obstructed by the cloth, the blood had started leaking out once more.

"Now what?" He asked over the curtain, unsure how he should do besides slap a Band-Aid on it like back when he was in baseball. He knew that wouldn't be any help here though; the cut was far too large for that. "It's pretty deep."

"How long is it?" came the response, forcing him to look at the disgusting sight again.

"It's about an inch or two, I think?" he guessed, not really up to trying to measure it properly; even with gloves on.

"Shit," swore the person on the other side of the curtain. "Sayaka isn't well off either, she's got a long angled cut on her ribs. It's not straight either, so I'm going to have to stitch it close. Wish I had something to numb this."

Leon winced hearing that, that wasn't something that he'd wish on anyone. One of his team mates back in his old team had taken a rather hard fall once and had to have the cut stitched up. When they had gotten back, they had talked none stop about how much it had hurt despite the doctors swearing up and down that they had numbed it beforehand. That wouldn't be pleasant.

Yet, a small part of him still felt a bit of satisfaction at the knowledge. After she had tried to kill him, he had shamefully felt a bit of satisfaction in seeing her get her comeuppance. No doubt she would likely get a scar from this, one that would always remind her of her failed attempt to do him in.

"Hey, you still over there? I don't need you freaking out on me." Snapping back to reality at the worried tone of his neighbor, he turned his attention back to helping out his fellow classmate.

"Yeah, I'm cool." Leon called over, shoving aside his feelings for now. "What do I do next? Do I need to stitch Hiro up or what?"

"Oh no," Came the reply of the other person. "But you do need to wipe it off with some disinfectant. There's a bottle of it right next to some clean wipes I put on your tray. After that, just dry it off then grab a couple of the sticky tabs I put next to them and use them to pull the wound shut. Simple."

"Yeah…simple."

It didn't take long for the all-star to clean and disinfect the clairvoyant's wound, though he didn't enjoy it in the slightest, so he tried to finish as quickly as possible. Taking the cloth and applying some of the liquid cleanser, he carefully wiped off the blood as best he could and then dried it with a separate cloth. Getting the tabs out wasn't much of a problem, but getting them to stop grabbing his fingers was irritating.

Thankfully, after that it was easy to figure out how to get the rest of the wound patched up. A quick slap of a cotton pad, some medical tape to hold it in place, and it was all done. Glad that it was over with, Leon wiped off some of the sweat from his brow, and turned once more to the girl behind the curtain.

"Okay, Hiro's all good now. I think. What now?" he inquired, hoping that this was all he needed to do to help. It wasn't as if he minded saving someone's life, but the stress of not knowing if what he was doing was helping was just unbearable.

"One last thing." Came the replay, to the all-star's chagrin, "I need you to fish out his E-book and tell me what his blood type is. It should be in his personal info tab. And make sure he's still got a pulse!"

Grumbling slightly at the commands, he still complied fishing through the clairvoyant's pocket for the tablet. Thankfully, it had been in the pocket opposite of the knife wound, so it hadn't been coated in blood. That didn't stop him from feeling disgust at having to stick his hand into a coat that probably hadn't been washed in at least a year.

After a quick glance at the injured man's Monokuma-lifeline he quickly realized that he didn't know how the thing worked or how to tell what the amount of blinks meant. However, it was still blinking, so he guessed it was fine.

It only took a minute after turning on Yasuhiro's E-handbook to find the man's blood type, and he walked over to tell the person helping save his classmates lives, throwing open the curtain as he did so.

"Okay, it says here his blood type is-" He was stopped at the sight of his fellow classmate laying on the med-bed, her body completely still while their hooded associate stood at her side. The red eyed woman was currently finishing with the stitches on the idol, and as they had said, it wasn't pretty. A long line of black marks of some kind of thread snuck around the bottom of her ribs at a messy angle, the flesh red from the thread pulling the skin shut.

However, while that was something that caught his eye, his attention was more focused on the uncovered flesh mounds just above the cut. If he had to guess, the hooded person had to remove Sayaka's bra because of the blood, and a quick glance at the table next to the bed where the ruined blouse and a stained bra lay confirmed it.

Fortunately for the idol's dignity, whoever it was that was patching her up had the smart idea to cover her bits with a couple of the pads and some tape, but that didn't do much to hide the two orbs from view. Unfortunately for Leon, his call and the sound of the curtain attracted the attention of the one overseeing Sayaka's healing.

"The fuckin hell are you doing!?" Shouted the hooded figure, red eyes trying to burn a hole into his head. Caught off guard, the poor athlete was only able to sputter and stammer; something they didn't appreciate all too well, judging by the glare he was getting. "I put that up for a reason moron! What do you want!?"

Not in the slightest prepared for such a tongue lashing, he was only able to hold up Hiro's E-book in response. Glaring judgingly at him, the hooded figure snatched the handbook from his hand and looked at the screen. After finding the info they wanted, they roughly pushed the pad back into his hands and pulled the curtain close.

"Just go stand with Hiro." They demanded, before walking around the curtain and heading for the miniature fridge that sat next to the sink and counter. At first, the all-star thought they were getting some kind of drink or something, but that was proven to be a wrong assumption when they turned around holding two medical bags of blood.

Silently, Leon waited as they disappeared behind the curtain once more, likely taking the blood bags to hook up Sayaka with one of them. As he sat there, he couldn't help but focus his thoughts on the girl in the blue hoodie. In the heat of the moment, he had forgotten the situation that he was in, and that there shouldn't be another person in the school that he hadn't met before. Monokuma himself said that there wasn't any way in or out for anyone, baring the massive gate. There was no way someone would have been able to get in without someone knowing about it.

Yet, here they were, a completely new person out of nowhere. No mention from Monokuma, no introduction with the others, and not a single mention of them from anyone else. And while he did admit that it was a good thing they showed when they did, it raised a lot of questions.

Where did they come from? When did they get here, or were they here the whole time? If they were here, why didn't they show themselves earlier, or were they hiding this whole time? Did Monokuma know about them, or had the somehow managed to sneak into the school somehow?

Far too many questions for the simple baseball star to even begin trying to answer by himself. He wasn't some kind of detective who only needed to look at the problem and figure it out in seconds. He needed someone to help him.

And just his luck, the one who could help was the red eyed figure stepping through the curtain with a blood bag attached to a long tube and needle in one hand, and a strip of medical tape in the other.

"Alright," they said, as they used a small cotton ball dabbed in rubbing alcohol to clean of Hiro's wrist before sticking the needle into a vain and holding it in place with the tape. "now we just have to wait and hope for the best."

As they worked to hang the bag up on some kind of small hook, they seemed to take notice of his staring.

"What?" they asked, eyebrow raised with their head tilted slightly in confusion. "I get some blood on me or something?"

Stealing his nerves, Leon closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He needed to know. Exhaling, he opened his eyes, his gaze locked with theirs. It was now or never.

"Who are you?"


	10. Investigations with Despair

*Ding dong, dong ding* " _Good morning everyone. Rise and shine. The time is now seven 'oh clock AM. Time to start the day._ "

With the morning announcement acting as his alarm clock, Makoto was forced to rise from what had to be the best night sleep he'd had since this school adventure started. He didn't know why that was, the fact that the bed felt the slightest bit softer than his own, the smell of the pillow that made him feel like he was in a field of flowers, or the fact that he was only in this room because of the trust his female friend put in him to allow him to stay here. No matter what the reason was, the lucky student couldn't help but feel well rested and ready to take on the day.

With the fog of sleep fading from his mind, he smiled softly at the thought of Sayaka. Switching rooms with her had been one of the better ideas he'd had. With her in his room, he knew she would be safe from any would be attacker's intent.

'After all,' he thought to himself. 'I have to keep my promise. She's my assistant after all.'

His musings were cut short the a sudden, yet polite, knocking on his door. Startled, Makoto sat up quickly, turning towards the door with confusion in his eyes.

'Who could that be at this hour?' he wondered as he though the covers aside and made his way to the door. Idly, he thanked his stars that he wasn't the kind of person to sleep in the buff, as it would make things really awkward for both himself and the person knocking.

Opening up the door, Makoto was met with the face of the "Ultimate Moral Compass", Ishimaru, who was surprisingly excited this morning.

"Good morning Naegi-san!" the student council member greeted him enthusiastically, a wide smile stretching across his face. "it's a glorious morning, is it not?"

A little exasperated, the luckster replied, "Well, you're starting the day with a bang. Huh Taka?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Of course!" Kiyotaka countered with plenty of pep. "It's a fact that humans are fundamentally more energetic during the morning!"

Then, Taka seemed to take on a more sympathetic look and continued, "…Not that I blame you for being tired. With the sun being blocked from us, it makes it difficult to differentiate from night and day. It wouldn't be a stretch to see everyone fall into irregular sleeping and eating habits in the coming days."

Swinging his pointer out dramatically, the red eyed teen doubled his tone and passionately stated, "With that said! That is why I proposed that we all meet for breakfast every morning, to prevent such unhealthy habits from forming in the first place! Having said that, we're beginning our first meeting in the cafeteria soon. I'm going to finish waking up the others!"

And with that, he was off, leaving the luckster behind to begin his daily routine. Sighing slightly, Makoto temporarily retreated back into Sayaka's room to get properly dressed, having removed his coat and shoes the night before, then started making his way after the moral compass.

"I didn't even say I'd go." He mumbled, his tongue instinctively running over his teeth as the feeling of residue from last night's meal reminded him that he hadn't properly brushed the night before. Between Monokuma's motive and Sayaka coming to and switching rooms with him, he hadn't had time to take care of his personal hygiene.

Making a mental note to brush after he ate, he continued his trek to the cafeteria. As he walked, he glanced at the door to his room with a smile, happy to know that even though they were in this situation, he was still able to help out a friend in need.

However, as he walked pass his door, he couldn't help but notice something was... off. Looking closer, he noticed that, for some reason, someone had switched out Sayaka's name plate with his own. Unusual, but not really all that bad.

Thinking about it, that would explain why Taka had been so lacks when he found the luckster in the idol's room. If the plates had been correct, there was little doubt in his mind that the Ultimate Moral Compass would have gone on a tangent about this not being acceptable in a school environment; or something along those lines.

It didn't explain _why_ they'd been switched, but he supposed he could look into it after breakfast.

As he arrived in the cafeteria, he noticed that he wasn't the first one there. Asahina, Sakura, and Chihiro were all at the main table with their own breakfast laid out in front of them. Not wanting to be rude, He gave them all a small wave, smile, and a pleasant, "Good morning."

"Morning Naegi!" cried back Hina excitedly, pieces of doughnut sprinkling out of her mouth as she spoke. Taking a moment to finish swallowing the rest of her bite, she asked much more clearly, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I slept fine." The luckster replied before heading over to the kitchen to grab something for himself. After that, he continued to talk with the others while they waited for the others to arrive.

True to form, each person came in at the own pace, some not bothered by their wake up call, though several were rubbing the sleep from their eyes. Soon, almost everyone was seated in their preferred spots. However, two people were noticeably absent.

"Hmm. I wonder what could be keeping Masters Maizono, and Hagakure." Inquired the portly Fanfic writer, "They're not usually this late."

"While I can't say the same about Hiro," Commented Mondo as he used his feet on the table to lean his chair back. "That Maizono chick's always been ahead of me in the mornings. So yeah, where are they?"

"Well," Started Kiyotaka while holding his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure, I rang and knocked on their doors several times, but neither one answered. I'd assumed they were just exceptionally tired, so I let them be. Still, it has been a while longer then I'd anticipated."

A feeling of unease gripped at Makoto's soul, a primal feeling that something wasn't alright. Terror gripped at his heart as his heart pounded against his ribs painfully as dread wove its way into his mind, filling his head with images that did nothing but worry him. Could it be…?

"I'm going to go check on them!" the luckster shouted, rushing out the door as he did so. He barely registered Taka's shouts of approval of him, "Setting an excellent example by going without being asked!" the luckster was to focused on making sure his friend was okay.

As he rushed down the hall, he tried to reassure himself. He was likely just overreacting, she was probably just tried, like Taka said. It had been a stressful day yesterday. Between Monokuma's motive, the stress of someone trying to break in her door, and sleeping in an unfamiliar room, anyone would be exhausted. It was probably just his imagination going haywire. They had swapped rooms after all, she should be fine.

Yet, that thought didn't even slightly slow his running legs as he rushed to his friend's aide. It didn't stop the lump from forming in his throat when he found the door to his room unlocked. And it didn't stop his heart from skipping a beat when he opened the door and saw the mess in his room.

Everything was trashed, long and deep cuts marring every surface that he could see. The sheets of his bed tossed haphazardly as a large cut dug right into the mattress, spilling cotton all over. Several spots of the walls had long lines of missing plaster revealing the special sound proof material behind it. Even the floor showed signs of a struggle with thick tears carved right down through the carpet.

Laying almost innocently in the middle of the carnage was the very gold colored blade that he and Sayaka had taken for protection, only now unsheathed, with bits and pieces of paint chipped off on the ground. The sheath bore a couple of new cuts in the wood, resulting in tiny splinters in a few spots on the floor.

However, despite this gruesome sight his room had become, Makoto didn't even register it as important at the moment. What was important was one simple fact.

Sayaka wasn't here, something had gone wrong.

For a moment he simply stood there staring at the ruination that his room had endured, his imagination tormenting him with thoughts of what had happened here, but he slowly forced himself to turn away and looked at his bathroom door. In that second feelings of hope and trepidation hit him hard.

'Could Sayaka have hidden in there?' He wondered, hoping that whatever had done this hadn't thought the same. That she was simply sitting in there, alone and alive instead alone and… dead. Whatever waited for him in there would likely answer his question of whether his friend was okay or not.

Slowly, he gripped at the knob of the door, his hand shaking as his palms began to sweat. He was stressed out beyond belief as he swallowed the lump in his throat, and swiftly ripped open the door…

But nobody was there.

Briefly, he felt a bit of relief that he hadn't just walked in on his friend in the shower, or a bloody corpse of his close friend, but that feeling quickly faded when he realized that this meant she was out there in the school where anything could happen to her. Throwing the door closed, he quickly hightailed it back to the others. Maybe one of them would be able to find her.

'Maizono, I promised I'd protect you.' He thought to himself despondently. 'I swore that I'd get you out of here. I gave you my word.'

Oh, it wasn't as if he wasn't worried about Yasuhiro as well, he really was! But Sayaka took priority at the moment. He thought a silent apology to the Clairvoyant, but continued to rush back to the cafeteria room where he slid to a halt, his rushed entrance and heavy breathing immediately catching everyone's attention.

"Whoa, dude. Where's the fire?" Asked the Ultimate biker exclaimed when he caught sight of the luckster. Similar questions were tossed his way, but he shook his head and shrugged off their worries.

"I can't find Maizono," He explained, "and when I went to check on her, the room was trashed. I think something happened to her!"

" _WHAT_!" came the startled cry of several of the more excitable members of the group, though that didn't stop the looks of shock of the others as well. None of them had expected _that_ to be the first thing out of the herbivore boy's mouth. Quickly, panic spread amongst them.

Shouts of worry and concern flew everywhere, none of the students quite prepared to hear such news delivered first thing in the morning. When asked about Yasuhiro, Makoto simply said that he couldn't find him either; unfortunately causing more mass hysteria from the others. For a moment, it looked like havoc was going to ensue.

"Calm down, all of you." Came the stern words of one Kiyoko, piercing the vail of panic and fear flooding her fellow student's minds. "We shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. Our best option right now is to try and work together here to find Maizono and Hagakure before anything else."

"Miss Kirigiri is right!" proclaimed Kiyotaka animatedly, his fist clenched with determination. "If we let ourselves panic at the slightest notion, then we my risk our ally's safety. I suggest we form two groups, one to investigate the school grounds, and another to check their rooms for any clue as to where they might have gone!"

One after another, it seemed that the others seemed to feel the motivation to assist in the search for their wayward classmates. Though, their reasoning for doing so were drastically different. Byakuya especially was being uncooperative, but stated that, "I have no desire to waste my valuable time searching for a couple of wayward rabble. However, I also don't want that disgusting bear on my case for the foreseeable future. That's the only reason I'm lending my assistance."

So, with some modicum of struggle from the others, it was decided that Makoto, Asahina, Kiyotaka, Mondo, Junko, Byakuya, and Sakura would search the rooms, while the others would check the bedrooms. There was a bit of a surprise struggle from Toko who'd wanted to help search classrooms with the other's, though she vehemently refused to state her reasoning. However, with a brief word of, ahem, "encouragement" from the ultimate heir, and a spoken plea from the ultimate luckster, she was quick to change her mind.

After that, the search was on.

* * *

"So Booooored."

Have you ever really stopped to actually look at an investigation? No, I don't mean those on cops shows and dramas or what have you where they amp up the suspense with music and dramatic camera angles over quick passed observations by the actors. I mean, an actual investigation where people ran around either with a purpose or like a chicken with their head cut off, looking at every nook and cranny they can to find whatever, or in this case whoever, they were searching for.

Yes, at first, it was a bit exhilarating to watch, the worries of, "will they get there in time", "are they heading the right way", or the ever popular, "how are they missing _that_? It's so obvious!" driving a sense of excitement and intrigue into every witnessed movement.

However, those feeling quickly fade when you're the one in the know. To have all of the answers before anyone else and have to be quite about it. To know most of the answers that they seek but being unable to give them up because you're supposed to be the bad 'guy' in this situation. It really caused the suspense factor to take a nosedive into aggravatingly boring.

Even if I wasn't in charge and still somehow managed to play the part of one of the others, I still wouldn't have been able to help out properly without the risk of incriminating myself. _That_ was one thing I definitely didn't want.

As I watched the group run around looking for the two injured classmates, I found myself suppressing yet another of the yawns that had plagued me all morning. With everything that had happened last night between Sayaka's bout of insanity, her stabbing of both herself and Yasuhiro, and the stress of saving the two of them with Leon's reluctant help, I had barely gotten any shut eye. Add in the boredom I felt watching the group blindly search the first floor, and I was ready to say, "forget it" and go right back to sleep.

Unfortunately for my wants and desires, not only was I not going to be able to catch up on my sleep, but thinking about _why_ I hadn't been able to get said sleep left a bitter taste on my tongue. Patching up the two idiots of the night may have left me with mixed feelings, but that had been nothing compared to the conversation afterwards.

* * *

" _What do ya mean, 'who are you?' what kind of question is that?"_

 _Now, normally I wouldn't be so snippy with whomever I was talking to. Needlessly sarcastic, maybe, but snippy was something altogether. But, right now I was tired, frustrated, and had just finished using a girl's flesh for stitching practice. I was, in short, not up for stupid questions._

 _Evidently, Leon wasn't able to take the hint. "It's just, I've never seen you around here before, and I thought I'd already meet everyone in here. So, yeah. Who are you?"_

 _Harshly rolling my eyes, I gave him a frustrated reply of, "Seriously?" then after quickly removing my bloody gloves and mask before putting them in the trash, I turned to him and pulled off my hood before pulling my bleached locks into a pair of ponytails. Flashing him a Cheshire grin, I gave him a closed eye look and said in the sweetest voice I could, "Hi~ It's a pleasure to meet cha! Charmed, I'm sure."_

 _Letting the locks fall down my back, I crossed my arms and leveled his stunned expression with a deadpan glare. "That answer your question?"_

" _Y-you're Enoshima?" Evidently not, judging by his stammering._

 _Rolling my eyes again, I gave him a raised brow and a sarcastic comment of, "No~ I'm your friendly renegade serial killer out for a casual stroll~ Of course I'm Junko, moron. Just because I changed outfits, doesn't mean I'm any less me."_

' _Though I certainly wish that was the case' I thought to myself, still a bit miffed about my mind's current dwellings. What can I say. If there's a few things I can admit I have in common with the ultimate fashion icon, it's our quickness to become bored, and our ability to obsess over things._

" _B-but your eyes!" He argued back, pointing at the parts in question. "Last I checked, Enoshima had blue eyes! What gives!?"_

 _I felt the desire to roll the very eyes he was so focused on again, but I resisted for the sake of not wanting to make it redundant. "I wear colored contacts, obviously. Honestly, between the makeup, hair accessories, and all the fashionable dresses I've been in, is it really so much of a stretch?"_

 _Ignoring his conflicted expressions, I turned to the hobo laying on the cot and started examining Leon's handy work. Much to my pleasant surprise, the all-star had managed a pretty good job. The bandages were properly tightened to prevent any more blood from escaping, and it seemed like he had managed to use the sticky tabs correctly; though they were slightly off kilter, and there was a bit more bandages then truly necessary, but not bad for someone who'd never done this sort of thing before._

 _Feeling a bit calmer now that I knew there wasn't a risk of anyone dying here at the moment, I turned back to look Leon in the eye and tried to explain thing as best that I could._

 _And by that, I meant that I was going to make it up as I go along and hope he buys it._

" _Look, this might be a bit of a stretch for you since you want to become a famous musician or whatever, but not everyone enjoys being in the spotlight. Sometime I need some time to myself, but since I'm such a popular icon, I'm always at risk of getting mobbed by some creeps whenever I leave a studio or school. Sometimes it's so bad, I end up just hiding in my room for hours while I wait for the heat to die down. And that's no fun."_

 _Standing up, I stretched a bit to pop a sight kink in my spine, before continuing. "I wanted to be able to do things_ other _than just strutting my stuff in front of the crowds of cameras. I mean, that might be fun for a while, but not all the time. So, I started dressing up in bargain bin clothes, wearing contact lenses, and not using make up when I went out. Suddenly, I was just another face in the crowd. I could go where I wanted without being hassled. It was… nice."_

 _I gave him a moment to digest that load of nonsense and draw his own conclusions. For once, he didn't disappoint. "So, then why didn't you say anything earlier?"_

 _I gave him a shrug, and said, "Well, it's not like any of you would have believed me. Fashion icon of the world just wants to spend time alone and learning other things? Yeah, no. That just sounds like something a stupid tabloid mag would cover."_

 _Turning away and adopting my arms crossed over my head thinking pose, I continued, "Besides that, there's also this blasted, quote, unquote, "game" going on where one of us could snap at any moment. In a life in death situation like that, staying quite about yourself tends to be the smarter option. I mean, for Pete's sake, look at Say-Maizono. One video that_ might _be true, and she flips out. No, it's better to stay silent and safe, then loud and dead."_

 _Turning back to him, I was somewhat surprised to see him actually thinking over my words. No doubt, it was something that he'd never had to think about considering his goals right now revolved around getting noticed as a puck rocker. But, I did have time to let him think too hard on it, I still needed something from him._

" _Hey, Leon?" I asked, catching his attention. "Could you do me a solid?"_

 _He gave me a questioning gaze, his brow raising to emphasize his curiosity. "What is it?"_

" _Could we not tell any of the others that I was here? Please?" If I didn't have attention before, I certainly did now._

" _Huh? Why would you want that?" he asked, "Shouldn't you, I don't know,_ want _them to know about this?"_

" _Oh, I have no intentions of hiding most of what happened here." I elaborated to the all-star, waving my hand in dismissal. "But, if it's all the same, I'd rather not give Mono-Prick a reason to come after me anymore then I already have."_

 _He gave me a sound of understanding and looked away. For a minute he was silent, thinking about what I'd said with a contemplating look. Then, that looked slowly faded for a look of confusion as he turned to me once more. "Why would Monokuma be after you?"_

" _Because I'm now a threat to his game." I stated plainly. "whoever this mastermind is, they're going through a lot of trouble to make sure we die. Locking us up, giving us a motive to kill; all that noise. But, it's not likely that he was even considering that one of us knew anything above basic first aid. Now, not only did two people NOT die tonight, but it's going to be clear that someone in here can save people's lives; something they're_ definitely _against."_

 _Looking him dead in the eyes, I stated as calmly as I could, "The second Monokuma finds out I was the one to save these two..."_

 _I watched as a violent shiver rushed down Leon's spine, his face turning an ashen white at the implications of my unfinished sentence; just as planned. Now that he thought my life would be in danger, it would be unlikely that he would bother Mukuro, or 'Junko', about this in the future. With any luck, this means that there won't be any unwanted questions till I'm ready._

" _So, you see what I'm dealing with, right?" I asked bluntly, to which he dumbly nodded his head. "Good. Then we're not going to mention it again."_

 _Turning back to the unconscious hobo fortune teller, I started working on removing his coat so that I could wash it of the blood. Unfortunately, I was once again interrupted by the baseball player._

" _Hey, where'd you learn this stuff anyway?" groaning, I turned to him with a glare with the hope's that he'd drop the subject. Unfortunately for me, he wasn't willing to oblige my unspoken request. "I mean; I've never seen anything like this before. You were so calm back there while I was ready to pass out in panic. Even now, when they're just sleeping there with those big cuts, you're so calm about all of this. So, what gives?"_

 _I shook my head exasperated. Of course he'd want to know about my actions back there. The Ultimate Fashionista acting like a doctor and jumping into the fray to save someone's life when up until this point the person he thought was her acted completely stubborn and bitchy? Yeah, that'd raise anyone's eyebrows at least._

 _But, maybe I could work this to my advantage. I couldn't just tell him that I picked it up on a whim as, despite Junko's finicky nature, she wouldn't normally go out of her way to learn something like this. Telling him I learned it from 'my' sister Mukuro wouldn't work either since it would just open up more questions I wasn't quite ready to deal with quite yet. So, my best bet would be to tell him something that I could meld with what I know from my own life with Junko's._

 _After all, to quote a phrase, "the best lies carry an element of truth within them"._

" _Alright. First of all, don't mistake my 'being calm' as fact. I'm actually quite scared right now. I just know how to control it better than some people. Second, I learned this all from my mother."_

 _Seeing as I had his attention, I leaned up against Hiro's bed and began the true parts of my story. "See, my mom worked in one of the volunteer fire departments as an EMT. That's "Emergency Medical Technician". She was basically an on sight doctor, without being a full doctor. Unfortunately, when I was younger, there were a few times she wasn't able to find a babysitter in time, so I would be dragged along on several of her medical calls. Over time, I picked up on a few things and started learning a bit on hand."_

 _Pausing to make sure I still had his attention, which I did, I closed my eyes and continued. "Learning to sew actually came from one of my several hobbies that I enjoy. See, next to drawing, I really liked to make up characters and give them their own little stories, and sometimes I'd fall so in love with them that I would make a plushy of them. I kinda went overboard sometimes, I'll admit that."_

 _Opening my eyes, I glanced up at the tiles on the ceiling, thinking how best to explain the next part without conflicting to much with too much more of Junko's actual past. "Anyway, one day we had to go to the hospital because some idiot cut his hand open while woodworking and I ended up having to stay with the guy while they stitched him up."_

 _He cringed at the information, and I didn't blame him. Wounds on the body that warrant stiches tend to be a real game changer depending on the severity and the person's lifestyle. As a baseball star, and as a wannabe rock star, if he were to get such a wound, he defiantly would be retired for several months, weakening his ability to perform, damaging his reputation, and maybe even forcing him to retire completely._

 _I should know; I was the idiot that cut open his own hand. Long story._

" _I was fascinated that they were using what I thought was string to put his hand back together, so I spent my time asking questions about it. After a while we left, but I kept thinking about it. I could use my sewing skills to help people? Sounded like a good thing to me."_

 _Leon looked at me with a look of confusion, seemingly questioning something I'd said with his eyes. When I didn't continue, he asked, "So, if you wanted to be a doctor or something like that, why'd you become a super model? It just seems… Really out there."_

" _Oh, I wanted to be many things besides that. Wanted to be an artist, a sculptor, a writer, a doctor, a chef, even a teacher at one point." I admitted, before switching to a more disappointed face as I tried to guess why Junko was a fashion model at all with her admittedly incredible analytical skills. "But, my family wanted me to go into fashion, so they packed on the books and had me working my ass off to make myself as hot as possible. Moment I hit hot enough for the camera, my hair gets bleached, the contacts go in, and my first face cam gets taken. Next thing I know, I'm so popular that I'm getting shipped place to place, studio to studio, and being homeschooled all the while."_

 _He looked at me with the most pitying look he could muster, wincing when my tale hit him to close for comfort; again, as intended. By making it seem like she had no choice in the matter, he would have trouble bringing it up to 'Junko' at a later date. Just repeating steps to hold back the undesirable outcome._

" _Man, that's rough." Leon stated sympathetically, to which I just shrugged._

" _Yeah well, parents, what can you do?" He nodded at that, and we fell into an awkward silence for a few minutes. After I got tired of that, I broke it with a simple statement of, "But seriously, we need to do something about all of this."_

* * *

After some time clarifying just how much trouble we, and by that, I meant 'he', would be in when the others awoke, we went to work fixing up the place as best we could to prevent the others from finding out what had happened. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do much for Makoto's room aside from cleaning up the hairs that he'd lost during his fight with Sayaka in the short amount time we had. Mostly since we both needed to be able to get at least a few hours to rest so that we weren't too tired, as it would make us, read 'him', seem suspicious in the long run.

Soon after we went our separate ways for the night, myself waiting until he had closed the door to his room before sneaking back to close the gates to the other floors, both of us agreeing to pretend we had nothing to do with this. As far as we were concerned, we were never there.

However, while that situation had been settled, there was still the situation with Sayaka and Hiro to take care of. Obviously, the first thing I needed to decide on was how to proceed with the delicate problem that is the pop idol's betrayal. On the one hand she had tried to kill one of her classmates, might have succeeded too if it wasn't for her shortsightedness. That alone would cause her to land on several people's hate list and might even result in one of them trying to do her in, just to 'make sure she doesn't try again' as it were; which is something I'm trying to avoid here.

On the other hand, she only did that because my motive made her feel desperate. I take full… okay, majority of the blame for that. Thing is, I knew I shouldn't have used that blasted video. I've beaten up myself a lot over that already, but I felt the need to remind myself. Anyway, she wasn't completely at fault here, and there was a good chance the others would understand that.

Well, maybe not so much the other's as a whole, but Makoto and the more softhearted and understanding of them, hopefully.

Unfortunately, either way I looked at it, she was going to be in a whole lot of trouble when they found out what had happened. If I handled this too carelessly, someone would be getting axed and it would be my fault. So the question is, what can I do to lessen the blow.

Now, obviously if I were vanilla Junko, I would just force them into an investigation of the crime followed by a class trial. Simple as that, let them figure it out, then execute the guilty party. And also, not an option.

But, simply telling them, "Oh, FYI, Sayaka did it. She's the guilty one, she stabbed them. She did it." Wasn't going to fly, not in the slightest. Oh, I could whip out the security footage and give them irrefutable proof, but it wouldn't do anything other than making them hate her more. It would also prevent them from simply believing in her if she should try to reform afterwards. Not that they would, but the hope is there!

Fortunately, as they seemed to congregate back in front of the cafeteria to announce their findings, I felt like I had an idea on how to proceed.

"Let's hope _this_ plan goes better than the last one."

"Alright everyone! Does anyone have anything to report on our fellow classmate's whereabouts?"

The shouted question of the Moral Compass was expected to be met with either excited exclamations of success or at the very least a calm statement of failure. Unfortunately for the large browed student, these weren't the kinds of people to deliver organized thoughts.

"What do you think, idiot!?" shouted Leon, the lack of a proper night's sleep combined with having to do all of this exercise without getting a chance to eat first making him testy. "If we'd found anything, someone would've said something already!"

Gesturing towards the others reveled the worried faces of the rest of their classmates, each showing various levels of worry at their inability to find their remaining number. Makoto was especially distraught at their inability to find his friends, and it ate at the heart of the Ultimate all-star like some kind of parasite. A large part of him wanted to confess what he knew of what happened last night.

But, Leon had already promised both his friend and himself that he wouldn't be telling anyone about what had happened last night. As they were cleaning up Sayaka's room as best they could, Junko had explained her concerns with what would happen to the idol if they were going to reveal their little spat. Needless to say, she had a point; as much he didn't want to believe it.

Seriously, the girl had tried to kill him. If it hadn't been for the fashionista, he didn't know what he would have done given the chance.

"I understand your frustration mister Kuwata," Taka tried to placate the all-star. "but, we it would be best off if we still report our findings. Some detail might make itself known through our combined reports!"

From across the room a scoff of contempt came alongside a comment from the biker gang leader. "Easy for you to say. We looked in all of the classrooms and couldn't find a damn thing."

"Sakura and I looked in the kitchen and the laundry room, but we didn't see anything either." Reported the swimmer with the Ultimate Fighter giving a nod of confirmation.

"Kirigiri, Naegi, and I didn't find anything in the gym, the A/V room, or the school store." Stated 'Junko' as she stood next to her stated group, a hand on Makoto's shoulder in a vague gesture of comfort. The luckster was particularly upset at his friend's disappearance and it was only her grip reassuring him that was keeping from going on a panic.

"And we looked all throughout the bedrooms, and Hifumi checked the trash room." Came the calm voice of Celesta, a small amount of concern on her face. "but, we too were unable to find any clue as to our classmate's whereabouts."

This wasn't something any of them wanted to hear, and it showed on each person's face. With a few exceptions, everyone had a look of concerned worry for their missing members. Those that didn't, held a look of concentration as they attempted to think about what they might have missed in their investigation for their colleagues; what clue there could have been that would have revealed the location of the missing two.

Unknown to the others, Kiyoko had come up with her own theories as to the locations of Sayaka and Yasuhiro. There had been a few things she'd noticed along the way, most noticeably in the hallways, but with her decision to have both Naegi and Enoshima investigate alongside her, she didn't feel safe checking her findings; not because of Naegi, the poor boy didn't seem to have a dangerous bone in his body and was far too busy trying to find they others to be a threat at the moment.

For some reason, the amnesiac girl didn't trust Enoshima being alone with the boy right now. Maybe she was being overly cautious, but when the fashion model had pretty much forced the luckster into coming along with her when he was pretty much alone, alarm bells had gone off in Kiyoko's mind, all but demanding that she follow the two. Even though that meant she wasn't able to properly examine the various signs she'd seen because of Naegi's impatient searching, she trusted her gut feeling to avoid leaving the two alone.

If she could have seen the thoughts of the girl she'd been suspicious of, she would have applauded her instincts on being right.

In the mind of Mukuro, as she held Makoto's shoulder, she was cursing both herself and Kiyoko for her failure to complete her mission. It had taken her all night to work out her plan to fulfill her sister's demands, to come up with an idea on how to get him alone so that she could kill him. After that, she would make it quick. Walk up behind him, snap his neck, then hide the body in one of the classroom lockers for a few days to 'discover' later with some evidence to pin the blame on one of the others. Maybe swipe a bit of hair from one of them and put it in his hands.

It wasn't the only idea she'd had, but it was the only one she had that allowed her to avoid seeing his face at her betrayal.

She may want her help her sister feel despair, but that didn't mean she wanted to hurt the first boy to look at her with a sincere smile. She didn't know why, but the idea of that very smile dying caused her heart to hurt and made her stomach clench up tightly. Even now, just seeing him like this was making her feel something she couldn't understand, and it made her promise to her sister feel harder to do than any mission she'd ever been on before.

However, that didn't stop her from feeling a bit upset that the only reason she hadn't been able to complete her mission wasn't due to divine intervention on part of her sister, or Makoto's luck making it impossible, but because the mind wiped detective decided to follow them. Now, normally she would have just killed both of them and been done with it. No muss, no fuss, just finish them off and move on. Hell, if she had the time, she could have even framed it so that it looked like they had killed each other and without Kiyoko, the others wouldn't have a chance in hell to solve it.

Junko would be so proud of her despairing thoughts.

Unfortunately, with everyone running around in groups looking for Maizono and Hagakure, and all of them knowing that she was the only other person with Makoto and Kirigiri, it didn't paint a pretty picture for her survival. Oh, if she was forced to fight, she could take most of them on and win without breaking a sweat; baring Sakura and maybe Owada, of course. However, that would go against Junko's plans and may result in disappointing her beloved sister; something she was desperate to avoid happening again.

"This is truly a conundrum," stated Hifumi, his hand gripping his round chin as he posed thoughtfully. "What kind of force could have resulted in our comrade's disappearance? Could it have been some kind of fairy? Or has some kind of mysterious figure removed their forms from our sight?"

His comment was met with a glare from Toko, "O-Only you w-would think something like a f-fairy would be responsible for this."

In that moment, Makoto's eyes lit up in realization. There was only one figure who would know where his friends were. "Guys, what about Monokuma?"

All eyes turned to him instantly at his question, each one regarding him with confusion.

"What about him?" snapped the ultimate baseball all-star, not wanting to even think about the accursed bear. The two sided bear had been absent thus far this morning, and he was happy to keep it that way.

Unfortunately, the luckster had other plans. "He's got all of these security camera's all over the place, so he's got to know where Hiro and Maizono are, right?"

Looks of realization passed over several faces at his comment, but many of them were replaced with looks of concern afterwards. Chihiro cautiously stepped forward with a concerned, "but, how would we get him to tell us where they are?"

"I don't know," admitted Makoto with his head dipping slightly, before snapping back up with a determined glare. "but we have to try something."

In all honesty, he didn't want to rely on Monokuma helping them. If anything, he wanted to avoid the demented bear at all costs and find their missing members themselves. However, with all of the others being unable to locate the two, he was feeling the worry reach a level that was making him desperate.

The others couldn't deny that feeling of worry either; however, that didn't mean they liked it, as one ultimate heir made very clear when he said, "Very well then, we'll ask our captor for the location of those two. However, since it was your idea, you should be the one to ask."

At the lucky student's questioning "Huh?" Byakuya leveled him with a stern glare. "You were the one to come up with the idea to request aid from the one who has trapped us here, so it should be expected that the one who asks is the one who wants to know this information. Or, are you saying you expect one of us to step up in the face of your cowardice and risk our own safety in your stead."

At that, the luckster began shaking his hands in denial of the heir's accusation. "N-No no, I'll ask him! I don't want anyone to risk anything, I've got this!"

Byakuya glared at him, seemingly unconvinced. However, after a quick glance behind the luckster, the heir seemed to relent, turning away from the shorter teen with a scoff. "Very well, I hope you were already prepared then."

"Huh?" glancing behind himself, Makoto practically leapt out of his skin at the sight of the very bear they'd been talking about standing no more than a few inches away from him. Clenching at his heart, the herbivore boy was about to speak, when the two-toned bear began laughing hysterically.

"Heheheh, you should see your face right now! Oh man, I didn't know faces could turn that pale! And that jump, ha! Looks like the Ultimate Gymnast has some competition for her title now! Heh!" Poor Makoto could only stand there with his cheeks burning in embarrassment as the bear continued to laugh at his moment of nonobservance. The only solace he felt was that none of the others joined in on laughing at his expense.

After taking a moment to compose itself, the bear made a show of wiping away a nonexistent tear before turning back to the collected students. "Oh, but seriously, what's up? I've been watching you guys running around all morning, and I have to admit, I'm curious as to why."

Of course, no one was convinced by the bear's innocent tone, but they weren't willing to play around with its act. Getting his blush under control, Makoto walked right up to the animatronic and looked it dead in the eye; a feat only possible thanks to the table the bear stood on.

"Where's Maizono and Hiro." He asked, doing his best to seem threatening; a feat that only came off as silly considering he was trying to intimidate what basically looked like an oversized plushy. That was more apparent when said plushy look-a-like chuckled.

"What, you don't know?" the bear asked almost mockingly, causing a surge of rage to course through each other students.

"Cut the bullshit and just tell us!" Mondo demanded as he growled, despising the fact that he couldn't just rely on his out fallback of beating the answers of this annoyance.

"Jeez, someone needs a chill pill… and maybe a mint." Their irritating captor muttered, nearly causing the biker to try throttling the explosive plush if it wasn't for Leon and Taka quickly rushing forth to hold him back from making a, most likely, lethal mistake. After a brief chuckle at the biker's swearing form, the bear continued. "Well, if you're really determined to find out what happened to them, then you only need to head over to the infirmary."

Several eyebrows were raised at that, though many then glared in suspicion.

"Why would they be at the infirmary?" asked the strawberry blond model, genuinely confused as to why their classmates would be in the medical ward. If anything she would have expected to hear that at least one of them was no longer amongst the living.

The bear grinned wider, almost as if it found something funny about the fashionista's question, and said, "Well, that is where people tend to end up after someone tries to stab them to death."

All were silent at the bear's announcement, a cold feeling of fear gripped at the student's hearts once more. Their classmates had been stabbed? When did this happen? If this bear was being honest, then their classmates had been attacked be someone.

"Y-you're lying!" claimed Toko, pointing accusingly at the two faced bear on the table. "T-there's no w-way they would be in a r-room none of us have seen unlocked yet. Y-You're probably just saying that they're in the infirmary s-so we'll waist our time on a l-locked room."

The bear waved his paw in dismissal of the novelist's claim, stating, "Of course not! I may be many things, somewhat psychotic, a homicide enthusiast, and maybe even a little bit deranged, but I don't lie about people's lives."

Calming down a bit, their captor turned slightly with a paw to its chin. "Besides, why should you be concerning yourselves with me and my words. I'm just here to keep this class from braking rules, after all. What you should be concerned with is the state of your fellows. Right?"

The bear's words made them pause, uncertainty passing between students as they looked to one another for answers. As much as they didn't want to except it, he had a point. Their classmates were missing and they were wasting time chatting with a plush like bear.

"Come on guys." Stated the baseball star, waking around the bear as he did. "let's just go."

The others hesitated, but only momentarily, and then followed after him; some glaring at the bear as they passed. Soon, as the door closed with a resounding slam, leaving the bear as all that remained in the empty room. Unheard by anyone, the bear sighed aloud as its controller spoke her thoughts, no longer acting like the demented psychopath they'd been portraying.

"I have to do this… I have to."

* * *

"Maizono!"

The concerned cry of several of the students echoed through the hall when the students opened the door to the nurse's office and caught sight of the unconscious idol in one of the beds. Seeing this, Makoto pushed his way to the front and rushed to his friend's side. Tears of relief pored silently down his cheeks at the sight of her still breathing form. Internally, he thanked whatever deity out there that was listening that she was still alive, that he hadn't broken his promise to her, and that she was okay.

Well, 'okay' might be a bit of a stretch when he considered her sleeping in the infirmary with several bandages wrapped on her, but it was far better than the alternatives in his opinion.

"Hey, look!" Called Asahina as she moved the curtain aside, revealing the clairvoyant in a similar predicament to that of the blue haired idol; though, his was more obvious since his jacket and shirts were missing, revealing a large amount of bandages wrapped around his stomach. "Hiro's here too!"

The luckster found it a bit disconcerting that there wasn't much in the way of reaction to Hina's discovery, but he was too concerned with Maizono to give it much thought. Looking at her, he clenched his teeth as a thought forced itself to his lips. "Who could have done this to them?"

As he made his statement, another student made their way to the front. Turning slightly Makoto watched as Kiyoko and, surprisingly enough, Byakuya made their way to the side of Maizono and Hiro respectively, and placed their fingers on the two unconscious student's necks. After a couple of minutes, they each moved to look at the bands on their wrists. After a few moments of that, they each pulled back and let the others come close.

"Are they…?" Hina started to ask, but was unable to finish, not daring to say what she and many others were worried about. That the two might have departed from this world well before their time. Thankfully, the prodigy broke the fearful atmosphere with a scoff; as weird as it is to be thankful for.

"No, they're still alive, if barely." With that, several sighs of relief were heard. As this was going on, the moral committee member stepped forth. His face was pale and sweaty, and his wide eyes were focused heavily on the two. To those that could see his expression, they were given a face full of self-imposed guilt.

"This is my fault." Stated Taka in a depressed whisper, his eyes clenched tightly shut as he hung his head. "I should have watched the rooms for anyone acting suspicious. I should have just stayed up longer and kept watch. I could have stopped this. I tried so hard to keep this from happening. The morning meetings… the plans I made to keep everyone safe… So, why…? Why did this happen?"

The others were quite stunned by the bushy browed teen's admission of self-doubt, none of them having realized that he was putting this kind of pressure on himself. Oh, in hindsight there had been signs for those willing to think about it, his decision on the morning meetings to help them stay together and foster relations, his insistence on using the last few minutes before night shift to run a check for suspicious activity, plus the strict watch he tried to keep up during the day to prevent anyone from attempting to murder. He was trying his hardest to lead the others as an example to follow and seeing his attempts fail were crushing him slowly.

There was a moment of stunned silence at Taka's words, but as tears of frustration started to form in his eyes, there was a surprising moment of support from the ultimate biker gang leader as he stepped forward and grabbed the red eyed boy's shoulder with a tight grip; not roughly, but still strong.

The Moral's eyes opened wide at the feeling, and he turned back to look his pompadour haired classmate with confusion. "Hey man, this ain't your fault. You couldn't have known shit was going to go down last night. Hell, you and me combed this joint best we could for hours, ya know. If anything, it's the bastard who pulled this bullshit that needs to take responsibility!"

Taka didn't know what to say to that, this being the first time anyone had been so … encouraging towards him. It was especially strange since it was coming from the very man he thought was nothing more than a mindless brute. He was about to comment on the manly teen's sudden shift in behavior, when another student spoke up.

"Mondo's right!" Called out another surprising interruption, this time from the usually meek and quite Chihiro. "You did everything you could, you couldn't have known this would have happened."

"It is true what they say." Stated the muscle bound Ogami, speaking up for the first time since they arrived at the infirmary. "You need not blame yourself solely for this travesty. We all should have tried to be more aware of our surroundings."

There were several nodding heads at her words, as a majority of the others agreed with the fighter's words. Taka looked at his fellow students, stunned by the feelings of comradery he witnessed from the others that he'd been trying to foster for the past week. The very sight caused a spark of joy to bloom in his chest, and after taking a second to wipe the tears that hadn't fully formed in his eyes, brushed himself off and adjusted his uniform.

"Th-thank you! Thank you my friends. I can't let myself falter from one failure. I can't believe my own foolishness had blinded me so. Everyone! I want you to slap me for my failing!"

"L-Let's not go that far, man." Leon summed up their thoughts on his request quite nicely.

"It's curious though." commented Celestia, looking at the blood soaked bandages that wrapped around the two injured teens. "Considering our current situation, I find it quite surprising to find them in this state."

The others turned to her as the otaku spoke up. "What do you mean? They're here in in the infirmary in bandages. I don't see what's so strange."

The gambler gave one of her fake grins and stated, "You misunderstand, it's not so much that we found them in such a condition; that's to be expected. No the curious thing is that they're still alive to begin with."

Several jaws practically hit the floor at the bombshell she had dropped oh so casually. As if she was doing nothing more than talking about the weather. Asahina ended up unintentionally voicing several of their thoughts when she asked. "How can you say something like that?"

"Let me rephrase that." Stated Celest, calmly closing her eyes to gather her thoughts. "considering their current state, there is no doubt someone attacked them last night. Most likely, this person was trying to kill them. However, we have found them this morning, not only still alive, but their wounds have been treated and dressed. It's quite strange, wouldn't you say?"

Several of their classmates were shocked further by her observation, but as they thought about it, none of them could refute her. Not only did they never heard word about this room being opened, this was the place that their classmates ended up at. The whole thing was rather suspicious to a majority of them.

Unknown to the others, however, one Leon Kawada was sweating metaphorical bullets. When Monokuma had shown up and told the others that Maizono and Hiro had been found and that they were in the infirmary, he had almost had a panic attack. It was just like Junko had said, Monokuma knew that someone had defied his desire to have them kill each other. And now they were at great risk.

As he thought this, he couldn't help but look at the very student who'd warned him in the first place. Strangely enough, she seemed rather calm in spite of all of this drama going on. Immediately, Leon felt like slapping himself for forgetting what she'd told him last night. Of course she looked calm to him, she had said that she was good at pretending to be calm.

However, looking at her more closely now that he had the chance, there was something… different about her calmness from last night. When she had told him about it he had noticed her hands had started shaking, but she seemed oblivious to it. It was like she truly did do this kind of thing only often enough to control herself during the fact before falling apart afterward. Here though, it felt more like she was immune to this kind of thing, almost… numb, if he were to describe it.

It was rather unsettling… and since when did she have freckles? He didn't remember that.

"The chick does have a point." The biker gang leader threw out. "I may not be the kinda guy to do something like this, but I don't think whoever did this would try an' patch them up after. What gives?"

Fujisaki spoke up with a worried tone in her voice. "Maybe it was an accident and they tried to help them?"

"Hardly." Stated Togami looking at the two prone students as he did so. "these wounds are far too large to have been made in error. Even if it was the case, then there should only have been one victim last night. Instead, we have two."

"Yeah, but, why are they in _this_ room then?" countered the fashion icon glancing about as she did. "I'm pretty sure that this room was blocked off before this. So, like, why the hell is it open now?"

The girl's question was left unanswered, none of the other students able to think of a reasonable response. A token pondering came from Hifumi about some kind of mythical creature being the responsible party, and another was made by Leon that maybe Monokuma opened it for kicks, but both ideas were shoot down immediately. The former for being ridiculous, and the latter for being really unlikely considering what all they'd seen so far.

Just before their questions could go further, Makoto spoke up regarding something he'd just noticed. "Hey, has anyone seen Toko?"

His innocent question caught them off guard, none of the others having noticed the novelist's disappearance before now. This was mirrored by Hina, "Hey, yeah. Where is she?"

"O-Out h-here." The meek voice of the purple themed novelist came from the hallway, drawing eyes to her location.

"What are you doing out there?" asked the luckster, his question followed by the Moral's statement. "Miss Fukawa, we need all able bodies to assist our fallen comrades right now. What reason could you have for not being in here with us?"

"S-Shut up. I-I don't d-do well w-with b-b-blood." Her statement was met with an "Ah." Of understanding, and the white dressed Moral committee member dropped the subject, turning back to the others as he did so. "Right then. Now, how about we go about finding the culprit! Everyone close your eyes, and I want the guilty party to raise their hand!"

"Like hell anyone's that stupid!" shouted back the combined efforts of Junko, Leon, and Mondo, actually insulted that he thought that would work. Just before it could escalate further, they were all caught off guard by a cheerful jingle playing over the intercom, followed by the voice of their furry captor.

*Ding Dong, Dong Ding* _"Ahem, this is a message for all able bodied students. Emergency! Emergency! Please head to the gymnasium post haste. Your headmaster has an announcement to make regarding the current situation. I repeat, please head to the gymnasium post haste. Your headmaster has an announcement to make regarding the current situation."_

The students were silent for a moment, waiting to see if the bear had more to say, and when it appeared that wasn't the case, the Biker sneered in disgust. "What could that bastard want now?"

"I don't know," admitted Kirigiri, her arms crossed. "but, I believe it would be best if we do as we're told for now."

The others were aghast at her statement, but before they could argue against it, Monokuma's voice chimed in again with, " _And just a reminder, anyone who doesn't show up at the gymnasium without an actual reason not to attend, I.E. having a stab wound, will be punished to the fullest extent. So, don't keep me waiting. That is all._ "

That news certainly upset several of them. "Who does he think he is? Telling us what to do like that."

Kirigiri turned to look at the fashion model and said, "Right now, he's the one who holds the cards. Unless we want to risk being executed for being late, it would be best for all of us if we hurry."

"Tch. I hate having to listen to that damn bear." Stated Mondo, his fist clenched by his other hand as he popped his knuckles. "What I wouldn't give to wipe that smug look of their face."

"Well, right now we can't mister Owada," stated Taka, his fist clenched just as hard. "It pains me to say this, but it needs to be said; our comrades have been harmed, and if we don't wish to cause them further strife, we'll need to follow miss Kirigiri's advice and head for the gym."

The biker sneered, but didn't argue as he headed for the door. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

As the others followed the biker out, Makoto stopped to look once more at his friends laying on the hospital beds, a surge of furious determination filled him. He had already failed to protect Maizono, but he would make it up to 'Don't worry Maizono, Yasuhiro, I'll find the one who did this to you. I swear it!'

* * *

I watched the students as they trickled into the gym with a feeling of trepidation. There was a feeling of unease coming off of each of them as they walked into the room, and a small few of them were giving the others looks of distrust and suspicion. I didn't blame them of course; I would have been doing the same in their position.

However, that wasn't what was causing my feeling, not fully anyway. No, what was upsetting me was the plan I had made in order to keep the peace here. Right now, there was only one person amongst them that couldn't be trusted; either by me, or by the others. Thanks to the first motive, I knew for a fact that at least one of them were going to make an attempt at ending another's life, there were more than a few signs indicating such.

After I had helped Leon clear up some of the evidence, I had tossed my, at the time, blooded hoody into the wash and gone back up to check the cameras. As I observed the students, and watched Leon use Makoto's lint roller on the carpet, I had noticed another student had been awake. For a good hour, I'd watched them make preparations for murder. The most concerning was when they'd pulled out a knife eerily similar to that of the one in my drawers, and began cleaning and sharpening it.

Though they had ultimately left it behind when they'd gone for breakfast, they still had sharpened a weapon with the intent to use it. If it was anyone else, I might have just thought they'd done it to act as a deterrent. But I was not so foolish.

I might have ignored it and let them be, had they not tried to lure one of their fellow classmates off during the search for Sayaka and Hiro. If it wasn't for Kyoko, we would have likely been down one unlucky student.

Unfortunately, that meant she needed to be taken care of now rather than later. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but I guess that's what I get for wishing for small mercies. Now, I could only hope this plan didn't backfire like the others.

When the last of them stepped in and the doors closed, I made my way into the control room once more and activated the gym Monokuma. I was then about to begin small spiel about making me wait, but before I could one of the students immediately interrupted.

"Monokuma!" angrily cried the Luckster, fitting the bear with one of the most intense glares I'd ever seen from him. "You did this, didn't you? You attacked Maizono and Hagakure!"

Needless to say, I didn't like being accused of that. "Sorry boyo, but you're barking up the wrong tree here. Unless you break one of the rules, I'm not allowed to even touch a hair on your teeny bopper heads. I can't believe I have to keep saying that."

"Well if you didn't do this, who did?" he rebutted, clearly not convinced in my innocence. I didn't hold it against him, I wouldn't have believed me either if I was in his shoes.

"Do I _really_ need to spell it out for you?" I asked rhetorically, not even pausing to let him speak. "It's just as I told you, right at the start. This is entirely within the rules, otherwise, I'd have intervened personally. One of you guys were the ones to attack those two."

My heart clenched at the looks they gave me at my announcement. The knowledge that one of their own had attacked another, it was something they hadn't been ready for. I ended up clenching my teeth alongside them, not really happy with the news myself. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning.

"Hey, I want to confirm something." Sated Byakuya, stepping forward with his arms crossed, a look somewhat between intrigue and boredom on his face. "Assuming the attempted murderer succeeded, that would mean that they'd get to leave, correct?"

I couldn't keep the glare off of my face at that. I knew he wasn't stupid enough to actually have forgotten about the point in the rules that kept them here; he was far to cunning for that. No, he must have had a reason to ask me that, but I didn't want to think about it right now.

"Not so fast blondie," I stated, feeling a bit of joy at his returning glare. "that would be too easy. 'just kill someone and get out, no hassle.' No, that would be far, _far_ too easy. After all, you're supposed to live here forever. No, the show only really starts afterwards. The next stage of the game would be the class trial!"

Having the bear hop off of its spot on the podium I continued. "Remember the part about, "must not let the others find out? Once you actually kill someone, then it falls on your heads to determine who done it. Who is the guilty perp hiding among you? If the class can find out who it is by the end, then the guilty party will be "punished" for disturbing the peace… Of course, the punishment will be of the permanent kind."

Stopping just to have the bear pose menacingly with his claws out, I turned up the brightness of his red eye and stated, "However, if you guess incorrectly or run down the clock, then I will be forced to believe that our murderer has bested you, and will "punish" everyone _besides_ the blackened soul. _Then_ they will be allowed to leave."

To a few of them who understood my meaning, the implications were terrifying. Kill someone and get away with it. The thought was stomach turning as it was. But, adding a threat of being killed for failure just enhanced that feeling.

For the few who didn't understand the repercussions, they had Chihiro to thank for asking, "Um, what exactly do you mean by "punished" …?"

"Simple, I mean execution of course." I explained, ignoring their increasingly horrified faces as best I could as I listed some ways. "You could be zapped, bashed, crushed, smashed, burned, drowned, minced up, stabbed, drained of blood, shot by cannons, poisoned, used as a pincushion… anything really, I've got a LOT of things ready to do you guys in."

The faces they made, the looks of terror, the horrified screams of "NOO! "from Chihiro and Hina, the shouted "WH-WHAT THE HELL!?" of Leon and Mondo. All of it made me sick to my stomach. I had a lot of feelings of self-loathing going on before this, but that image would be among them many that would be haunting my nightmares in the future.

"D-Do I get this right?" stammered Ishimaru as sweat poured down his face. "If we correctly identify the culprit, you will only kill _them_ , but you'll execute us _all_ if we guess wrong?"

"Is there an echo in here?" I mocked. "Yes, you little chimpanzee, that's it exactly. Though the way you casually implied that _you_ might be innocent was a nice touch."

His flinch at my words would have been painful to watch, if it wasn't for the sudden interruption of a particularly infuriated women.

"All right, I've had enough!" angrily shouted the disguised solider, her acting was convincing for anyone who didn't know what she was doing; unlike me. "This is all a bunch of crazy bullshit! Why the hell should I play detective for you!?"

I pretended to act confused, giving a simple "Huh?" to add to the effect. She wasn't having it. "Don't give me "Huh?" I absolutely refuse to participate in your messed-up trial!"

I gave her a look, but continued to play along. "I said "Huh?" because I was genuinely confused. If you won't participate in the class trail, then nothing but punishment awaits you…"

"Get stuffed, teddy-bear!" she shouted, turning on her heal and storming off, yet not taking her eyes off of Monokuma. "I don't care what you say, I'm sitting this one out!"

And so she marched, ignoring the calling of her name by some of her concerned classmates as she came closer to the doors. At this point, if I was to continue this act, I would have Monokuma rush ahead of her, confronting her on her actions and allowing her to retaliate in a way that would be considered breaking the rules. From there, if I followed the original plan that she expects, I'd then open up a trap door and 'send her to the dungeons' where she would then be the hidden blade that would kill someone and hide, preventing the others from properly guessing the killer. If I went Junko's way, then Mukuro would be shish kabob.

Guess we're doing it my way then.

"…is what I would say, if we actually were going to have a trial." I said plainly, stopping her in her tracks. "Unfortunately, that won't be the case right now."

That hadn't been in the script, nor was it something she would have expected. She turned back with a muttered, "Huh?" and stared at the two-toned bear as I made it shrug.

"Well, come on. What would be the point right now? As you've all seen, we are _sorely_ lacking in dead bodies to hold a trial over right now. No, unless one of you wants to volunteer to finish killing one of the two in the infirmary, then there would be no point."

The seventy-eight class didn't know how to respond to this bombshell. Oh, they were unsure as to my intentions, that much I could guess from their looking at each other for answers that they didn't have, but other than that, none of them could think of a reason to say anything.

"Bullshit!" Well, okay, maybe 'Junko' could. "Then what was the point of telling us all that!?"

Having Monokuma shrug, I spoke with a condescending tone. "Well, _someone_ asked a question. Is it _not_ my job as a headmaster to inform you of things where I can? Honestly, blame the ones who couldn't keep their gabs shut if you want to be upset at someone."

She growled rather convincingly as she stomped up to the stage, a deep glare on her face as she came close. "And what's to stop me from just walking out right now?"

I shrugged at her, continuing to ignore her attempts to provoke me. "Aside for the fact that you would be incriminating yourself as miss Sayaka's and or mister Yasuhiro's attacker, not much really. As I said, there isn't really a reason to hold a trial at the moment. Honestly, the reason I called you here was to warn you of the attacker being at large, and to inform you of what would happen if they succeeded."

Several of the students were grumbling about how I had wasted their time with this when they could have been helping their comrades, but I wasn't done yet. Hopping off the stage, the Monokuma unit brushed past the false Junko and walked towards the exit with its paws behind its back. "In any case, the one who attacked your fellow classmates is still here in the school. I should know, I had a front row seat to the action. And I must say, I was _sorely_ disappointed in the performance last night."

Turning the animatronic around a good ten feet from the class and catching the glares of angered disgust from the students, I resisted the urge to gag at the nonsense I was spewing and continued. "It was disgraceful! And the worst part was that one of _you_ actually used my caring nature against me to _save_ those two idiots! Not cool. So, I'm going to make an example of last night's fiasco and impose a new rule! Until our titular attacker has been caught, all students are forbidden from sleeping in any dorm room aside from their own and their dorms will be _locked_ during night time hours…"

Unsurprisingly, a few of them didn't take it well. Hina was especially miffed considering she had rather enjoyed her impromptu sleepover with Sakura last night and may have wanted to host another. And I knew that Kiyoko was upset as the forced lockdown would force her to have to say in her room during the times that she tended to investigate the most, lest she planned to stay awake all night to avoid being punished for sleeping in the school and breaking a rule. But then, things took a turn for the worst.

"How's this for an example?" at that upset call from the fake Junko, I was caught off guard when the camera for the Monokuma was suddenly shifted to facing upwards. Continuing to watch, I was soon greeted with the sight of Mukuro leaning over the bear and glaring down at the camera. Attempts to get Monokuma to stand up were futile since she had planted her boot smack dab in the center of its face and was using her whole weight to keep it pinned. All and all, not good.

"…" I honestly didn't know what to say to that. I honestly didn't. Should I have responded with confusion, with anger, respect for standing up to me? Should I slap myself for actually forgetting that she needed me to get Monokuma off the stage to initiate their plans, shortly after deciding I wasn't going to do that? I didn't know. But, what I did know, is that I wasn't going to stand for it.

"You happy now?" She asked, her tone nether happy nor taunting. If I were to describe it, it was more like a stern parent upset with a child than anything else. Yet at the same time I felt insulted.

Who was she to stand there like she was better than me? Acting like she knew anything at all about what would make me happy. What gave her the right to talk down to me like that when she didn't have the slightest idea of what I was going through trying to keep these people alive? No, I was not taking that from her.

"Are you?" I replied to her, no longer really feeling anything about what I was about to do. But, I still felt the desire to warn her about what I was going to do. "You do realize that, on top of the fact that this does nothing but give me an excellent shot up your skirt; and seriously, those have got to be the most boring set of panties I've ever seen, but you are basically standing on top of a talking bomb."

There wasn't a response from her; aside from some pink dusting her cheeks, so I continued. "On top of that, violence against head master Monokuma is strictly prohibited! You just broke a big rule there, missy! I know you aren't stupid as your hair color would imply, but _come on_. Use your head!"

I sighed as she refused to budge, so I began pressing buttons to prime her 'punishment' for breaking the rules. I was not dealing with this. It was time for plan B. "I didn't want to do this; I told myself, "Monokuma, I really don't want to do this," but now, I have no choice but to make an example out of you. Sorry."

I made sure that everything was aimed up properly. I checked to see if it looked like she was going to move; she wasn't, but she was noticeably caught off guard by my impromptu apology. Then, when I felt it was set as loud as I could, I shouted, "DODGE THIS! SPEARS OF GUNGNIR, I CALL UPON YOUR AIDE! _SLAY_ THIS WENCH WHERE SHE STANDS FOR HER TRANSGRESSTIONS AGAINST YOUR MASTER, MONOKUMA!"

In that moment, faster than even she, the Ultimate Solider, could react, a flash of something flew at her, crossing the room in less than a second. Then, there was a scream, a wet sound of flesh being punctured, blood splattered the ground, and most of all…

A feeling of despair.


	11. To brush death by Despair

"…What…What is this?"

It was something that could have never been expected. Something that Mukuro had never anticipated happening to her. The one thing that she had never wanted to acknowledge the possibility of.

She'd been betrayed. Stabbed in the back by the one person she had believed in the most.

In her life as a solider, she sadly wasn't naïve to betrayals. There had regrettably been a few times where one of the members of Fenrir had been less then loyal and tried to sell off either locations or secrets to their enemies for financial gain. Nine out of ten of those, she had been the one to end the traitor's life, the one out of ten being given to her commander for interrogations. They didn't last the night.

Furthermore, she herself had known the feelings of betraying someone, having destroyed the trust and faith of, not only her fellow classmates, but of several people that had trusted and depended on her, ruining their lives for no other reason than to appease the endless boredom that constantly plagued her beloved sister.

The very sister who had done this to her.

In hindsight, she knew she should have seen this coming. For years, her sister had tried to kill her off for no other reason than to feel the despair of killing someone she loved. It was something that had defined their relationship.

At first, Mukuro had found it quite irritating, constantly having to be on her guard in order to avoid yet another of her sister's attempts to kill her. But, over time, and with a conformation that Junko only tried to do this because she loved her twin sister, the solider soon excepted these assassination attempts as her daily routine. Eventually, she even started to enjoy it as, not only did it help her keep her reaction time and combat skills razor sharp, it constantly reminded her how much her sister truly loved her; as bizarre as it could be.

If she were to be honest with herself, she had admittedly started to miss her sister's creative attempts to kill her during their time at hope's peak, but she hadn't had the will to ask why the attempts had ceased. Between Junko's time unconscious, their plans to bring about the most awful, most tragic, most despair inducing incident in the world, and Junko's time suffering intentional amnesia, there hadn't been much time for her sister to devote to plans of killing her.

Mukuro had assumed that it was because there had been no need at the time. As the Ultimate Solider, she was an important asset to her sister and her plans to cause despair. In the fact, as her twin, Mukuro could handle things physically disguised as her sister, things that Junko might be unable to handle with words alone. She was everything that her sister needed.

' _So then why…?_ ' she thought to herself as she stared at the large metal spear sticking from her flesh, ' _why did she … why did she do this? What happened to the plan?_ '

She still remembered intimately what her sister's exact plan had been, having been told several times over the course of a week before they had taken over the school. Once the rules for the trials were announced, she would make a huge fuss and be dropped into the vents they had filled with a multitude of Monokuma; the 'dungeon' as Junko called it. Once there, she would make her way through the vents till she got to the dorm rooms. Then she would have her pick of targets to choose from.

Even the exact argument they had was scripted, right down till she attempted to walk out the door.

However, then Junko changed the script.

It wasn't hard to believe, her sister had always had a finicky attention span, a constant problem she'd had since they were children. Unless she could throw her all into it, Junko rarely stayed committed to anything. It was part of the reason she would get so bored so easily.

But this wasn't a problem. Mukuro was use to these kind of changes, even when they didn't make sense. She played along before all this, she could do it again.

So she did. She feigned anger at the bear for changing the rules on them, kicking it down with a small amount of guilty satisfaction. She broke a rule to get the bear to 'punish' her, to banish her to the so called dungeon. She even threw out a bit of a taunt to enhance her role as her sister.

But, then everything went wrong. Her sister didn't send her to the vents. She tried to kill her instead.

" _Why?_ " she muttered aloud, unable to comprehend what had happened.

Her thoughts were cut off when the bear she was standing on suddenly spoke. "Well, I'm pretty sure the reason for this is because you broke my rules. Or is that not your foot on my face?"

Slowly her sights moved from the spear to the bear her sister controlled that was still under her with a sense of dread when she continued, "… Then again, I'm also pretty sure that I said " _spears"_ of Gungnir, as in the plural sense, not " _spear_ " in the singular."

It was true, despite the immense amount of pain she was going through, she could easily she that there was still only one spear going through her. Specifically, it was going right through her right upper thigh from the back of her leg, just below her buttocks. It didn't look like it had gone through the bone, but there was a concerning amount of blood pouring from it. If it weren't for the spear blocking the exits it had made, she had no doubt that she would be dead from blood loss right about now.

But, there raised the question; why hadn't the other spears gone off? There was no reason that Mukuro could think of for the trap to have failed. It had been designed, built, and tested by the Ultimate Mechanic after all, and he had yet to make a device that failed unless it was designed that way; and he would never risk incurring her sister's wrath by doing that.

So, that meant that Junko had intentionally done this. She had voluntarily made it so that only one of the spears would go off. The question was, why?

Why had her sister, who'd stated several times that she'd kill Mukuro so that she could feel her beloved despair, and had even attempted countless times to do so, give up on this opportunity? Was this one of her games that she had loved to play, or had she changed the plan further without telling the solider? Was this an attempt to make Mukuro feel despair?

Mukuro didn't know. All she knew right now was the intense amount of pain that she felt that was far beyond anything she'd ever felt before. The agony in her heart from her sister all but literally stabbing her in the back combined with the liquid fire in her leg to create a symphony of anguish that locked her in place, despite every instinct in her body screaming at her to move; to get away before her life was extinguished. But, the pain was too distracting.

Vaguely, she could hear the comments of the bear below her, something about how they were going to try this again, but it was more of a white noise compared to the rhythmic pounding of her heartbeat in her ears. Her vision was starting to waver and darken, her thoughts becoming more muddled the harder she tried to focus. She watched as several panels opened up in the floor, but her consciousness fading prevented her from doing more.

In the back of her mind, she could recall a lesson she had been given in the event that she had suffered such a wound, but in her dedication to avoid upsetting her sister by being injured, she had never really had a reason to retain much of it. One thing that did click though, was that she needed to control her breathing and heartbeat to prevent herself from bleeding out faster from her increased pulse. It was a struggle to focus, but she kept her breathing steady as she continued to look at the bear below her. A deep glare formed on her face as she gazed down at her sister's puppet, idly noting that it had a splattering of her blood on its smug looking face.

If she was going down, she refused for it to be looking like a scared little girl. If this would be the last face she could give to her sister, she would make sure that the it would be something worthy of praise.

So, she was completely caught off guard when she heard her sister ask so quietly that only she could hear. " _Why didn't you dodge_?"

Her eyes widened in shock, never had she heard her sister use such a depressing and remorseful tone. Not when they were children, not when she had started her plans of despair, not even when she had killed her best friend and lover in the name of said despair. In was such a complete shift in character from everything Mukuro had known of her sister that she was unable to get in a word before Junko changed back into the Monokuma persona.

"Now then, without further interruptions. _SPEARS_ OF GENGNIR, yada, yada, SAVE ME!" Mukuro braced herself for the inevitable, ready to meet her maker at the hands of her own sister' as hands. At the last moment, she closed her eyes and thought of the last happy moment she truly experienced with her sister, not wanting her last memory to be of that stupid bear splattered in her own blood. She remembered when they were young just playing together like the little children they were, none of this despair nonsense that controlled their relationship now, and a small tear escaped her eye as she remembered those innocent times. She was prepared, understanding that there was no escape and accepting it.

Only, it never happened.

"Junko! Look out!" It all happened so quickly, one minute she was stuck, held in place by the spear in her leg, then a twin shout of her sister's name startled her out her thoughts. She wasn't able to even properly register what was going on before a large weight slammed into her side and knocked her away from her inevitable death; painfully knocking the spear in her leg out of its stand and resulting in any attempt at a soft landing to become impossible. With a loud grunt of pain, she landed on her shoulder roughly as a sharp spike of renewed agony raced up her spine from the intrusion in her leg being knocked around.

Just as she was about to get up and comment on the rough handling…

*Thwack, thwa-thwack- thwack, thwack* The sounds of many sharp objects impacting and piercing through wood echoed through the gymnasium, startling her terribly. Eyes snapping wide open, she dared to risk looking back behind her at the sight that would have been her.

As expected, there were several long, black poles were jutting out of the ground where she'd just been standing, splintering the wooden flooring. Briefly, she noted with some disappointment that they had completely missed the demented bear bot by a fair margin, though the surprised expression it wore was a bit of a welcome sight.

However, the real attention grabber was the two boys on either side of her, both panting as if they had run a marathon as they looked at her with eyes filled with concern.

"Are you okay?" Asked the luck boy, Makoto, his eyes staring into hers with the most unwavering amount of concern she had ever seen. Not even her sister, not her parents, not her troop, no one person had ever looked at her like that in recent memory. If she were to be asked about it later, she would firmly deny that she had blushed a bit at the attention and would brush her lightheadedness off as a result of the blood loss.

"…That was way to close, man." Breathed the baseball-star, Leon, his hand clutching at his chest as if doing so alone would calm his raging heartbeat. His eyes were wide and his forehead was coated in sweat as he panted with shaky breaths, completely shaken up from their near brush with death. Briefly, it reminded Mukuro of times when a new recruit had their first encounter with her Sargent's special training course.

"…Ah…" she tried to respond, but she found her body unresponsive to her commands. Incidentally, she also noticed that here vision was starting to fade as the battle to remain conscious was becoming more and more of an uphill battle with each passing second.

"Oh my freaking god!"

* * *

Palming my mouth, I briefly heaved as I tried to keep my lunch down for the second time today. I'd never would have done this if I'd actually stopped to remember why she had tried to do something this stupid.

Never let it be said that she wasn't determined to stay the course, despite changes to the plan. As a solider, she would be use to the idea of modifying a plan on the fly; more so in her case since she followed Junko's finicky plans that seemed to be nothing but spontaneous most of the time. Aside from specific orders, she rarely deviated from the course.

Still, I don't know why it was that she, the Ultimate Solider, the one who had never taken so much as a scratch in the field, couldn't do the one thing I thought for sure she'd have down by now.

"Why didn't you dodge?" I mumbled softly, pulling away from the mic so that she didn't hear it. I stared at her injury, at the large spear sticking straight through her right leg. Even now, I was trying to suppress my gag reflex at the sight of what I'd done to her.

"Oh, who I'm I trying to kid." I grumbled to myself, "If it was that simple, Makoto wouldn't have needed to save her in the I.F. novel; let alone here."

I knew what the real problem was though, and it wasn't her training. In was the level of trust that she held in her sister. Junko had had this poor girl's loyalty for years now, despite whatever hiccups that I firmly believed were there. Even in that novel, it was clear that Mukuro never thought that that her sister would actually try and kill her.

I had sighed in relief as Mukuro was pulled away from the camera view of Monokuma several seconds before I'd activated the rest of the spears of Gungnir. It was a bit of a shocker to see, and I'd almost activated the spears earlier than intended as a result. It was either thanks to my fortunate pause of shock, or Makoto's B.S. luck kicking in at the right moment, but I was glad that I wouldn't be getting any metaphorical blood on my hands today.

Still, Leon joining in was far more shocking then Makoto. With the Luckster, I could at least excuse the rush to save a friend because of his caring nature; it's just how he is. _Leon_ on the other hand was, a slacker, a hot blooded athlete, and a player who is sensitive about his hair. I mean, it wasn't that I was unthankful, far from it in fact. But I never would have expected it if I hadn't seen it happen right in front of me; and if I were to judge by his expression, I don't think he even expected to jump out like that.

However, that raised the question. Why did he rush out like that to save Mukuro- err, 'Junko'? Why would this worthless loudmouth risk his life to save someone like her; especially since he would have nothing to gain from it? I'm all for people doing the right thing, don't get me wrong, but most of the time it only happens from inherently moral people, not from players and wannabe punk rockers. I just expect some sort of consistency.

Still, it was a welcome development.

Deciding to get back into character, I slapped my cheeks to snap myself out of this depressing funk, then pulled the mic close again and started part two of my plan. "Oh my freaking god! How the hell do you idiots keep lucking out of getting killed!?"

My false anger instantly caught their attention as I continued to rant. "I mean, for Pete's sake! Two of you already lucked out last night, and now I've got to deal with this nonsense!? Seriously! Isn't three supposed to be the charm!?"

You want to know something interesting I've learned recently? Surprisingly, I rather prefer the glares to the looks of fear; such as the ones I was getting right now. It's rather concerning.

"And the worst part…?" I continued, deepening my voice to emphasize my 'rage'. "At least they have the excuse that they were at least _trying_ to follow the rules! _They_ at least got into a tussle beforehand! Her? _The rule breaker_? I'm trying to uphold the sanctity of this establishment, and here you are _risking your lives_ for her! For what _possible reason_ could you have to risk your own lives to save hers!?"

My false rage stated, I kept the bear's glare focused on the two rescuers and their woozy associate in disguise. For a brief moment, it looked like they would back down, their fear of death contrasting with their desires to help their friend. But, to my relief, Makoto steeled his resolve and stepped forward. "Because she's my friend."

I faked a scoff, ignoring the shocked look on Mukuro's face at her crush's admission. "Oh please. You've barely known her a week and you call her your friend? I'd be willing to bet money that the feeling isn't mutual. Hell, I'd wager she'd kill you first chance she'd get!"

She flinched at that, since we both knew that it was true. She was under orders to kill him and would have done so today if it wasn't for her classmate intervention. There was no reason for me or her to believe otherwise.

However, Makoto didn't believe that. "No, that's wrong! She would never do that; none of us would!"

"What makes you so sure? What proof do you have that she, let alone the others, wouldn't do anything?" I pressed, already knowing the answer, but wanting to hear him say it himself. I was far from disappointed when he looked at me with those eyes filled with complete resolve and stated his cause without even a hint of regret or deception.

"Because I trust them, that's all the proof I need."

I had to admit, seeing him look so determined in his trust in the others really made me want to drop this whole thing. I really wanted to give up this act and say, "I believe you." Judging by the blush forming on Mukuro's face, she clearly agreed with me in some fashion.

However, I wasn't here to play the support. I was here to hurt.

"Fine then." I said, steeling myself for what I was about to say; what I was going to do to insure that his faith would be tested to its fullest extent. "Then I guess you wouldn't mind sharing in your _friend's_ punishment; now, would you?"

Several shades of color left his face at my proclamation, all of his confidence draining from him as I bequeathed onto him his fate for his actions. "I- "

"That's B.S.!" cried out Leon from behind Makoto, interrupting the Luckster as he stepped forward. "The dude did nothing wrong! Why the hell should he be punished for it?"

"Yeah!" followed up Hina with a similar look of outrage on her face. "you said you couldn't punish us unless we broke your stupid rules! Was that just a lie!?"

Similar cries of outrage came from the others, but I raised Monokuma's paw to silence their further outcries. "Now, now. I'm not done talking here. If you'd let me finish, I'll explain."

There were more than a few grumbles at that, as there were more than a few still upset at me, but I pushed on. "Now then, as I was saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted, I believe I can make a deal with you mister Makoto; just so that I can prove a point."

He was shocked at that, but he was also instantly on his guard; as he should be. "What is it?"

"You see, as I've said before, my job is to punish the rule breakers in this school. And as we've all seen today, your so called 'friend' there broke one of my rules. That means, without a doubt, she has to be punished for it. No exceptions."

Mukuro cringed at that, looking away in shame as I admitted her failing to realize what would happen to her for her actions, but I continued. "Now, she has to pay for her transgressions. That much is absolute fact no matter what she does… However, you can do something for her."

Now I had all eyes locked on me, each of them curious as to what I meant. I resumed, "See, as I mentioned before, you each have one lifeline with which you are responsible for. That also means you can do things with their lives however you wish. For example, lifelines can be exchanged to save a life."

The class of seventy-eight were quite stunned by the information, but I wasn't quite finished yet. "Of course, you can't use your own lifeline if you're being punished for breaking a rule. That wouldn't be fair to the other students. _However_ , if someone else _voluntarily_ exchanges their own lifeline to save your ungrateful hide, then you will be let off with a warning probation."

For a while, this seemed to settle several of the student's nerves. The knowledge that they could save someone from my wrath was a welcome peace of information. But, then Kiyoko dropped the other shoe.

"But, if we do that we'll lose our own lifeline in exchange." The fact that she stated it without any emotion in her tone was probably the worst part of that information. At least to them. I still had no intention of reveling that it wouldn't actually do anything to them or their loved ones, just giving them another avenue of safety.

With almost sadistic glee, I confirmed the amnesiac's suspicions. " _That's right._ If you hand in your lifeline to save another person, then your life line will be _punished_ in their stead. Which brings us back to this. Mister Makoto. Which will it be? Will you save this girl you barely know, doomed to die for her transgressions, or will you continue to hold onto your precious person in the hopes that someone won't end up dooming you and them? Your _friend_ , or your _family_?"

In that moment, Makoto was completely stuck, trapped between a decision of life and death. To decide the fate of a person's life was one thing, but this was the first time he ever had to make a decision that could change everything he knew. To pick who would die, and who would live.

It wasn't a decision to be made lightly, this wasn't simply a choice between a meal or some day to day nuance. This choice would literally dictate who would lose their very lives. That's a lot of pressure to take.

If he picked 'Junko', then in his mind he would be damning his own sister to death; his family, his own flesh and blood would die for some random stranger. The person who had looked up to him all her life, the one who he was responsible for protecting as the elder sibling, she would be killed directly by his decision.

On the other hand, if he chooses to stay his hand for his sister, then an 'innocent' women dies as well. A person he only knew for about a week, who had been abrasive and nearly got herself killed twice already; both times which he ended up saving her from her own stupidity. But, she was also someone he considered a friend, despite the attitude she had demonstrated towards everyone so far, and while he didn't know she had been plotting to kill him not to long ago, she had been the first person to come along with him when he'd been looking for his old friend.

Plus, she sat on him in her undies. That's something to consider.

But, beyond all that, he all but literally held these two girl's fates in their hands. Their very _lives_ depended on his choice; as far as he knew. The simple fact was, he wasn't prepared for such a sudden and important choice, and it showed on his face.

Never had I seen a face so distraught, so conflicted in the two choices presented to him. There was no way around it, he was in a real losing situation. One hand costs him his sister, the other settles him with the guilt of losing a friend, and both leave him with the knowledge that he had left the other to die. There was no right answer, no good end to be gained. Just a truly hopeless choice.

He wasn't the only one. Without even turning the bear's head, I could see the others were struggling to do the same. My question may have been addressed to him, but the others knew they all could intervene at any time. However, they too were struggling to find the resolve to save their classmate from her appointment with the river Styx. Terrified at the prospect, they stayed silent, internally praying for their classmate's survival.

"I…" He started, but was unable to continue, the weight of this decision hampering his ability to talk. The sheer despair threatening to drown him in darkness. A dank pit from which he wouldn't be able to return from alone, not without several scars on his psyche at the least.

"Tic toc mister Makoto." I unhelpfully taunted, adding to the stress he was already experiencing. "Otherwise, your 'friend' over there will bleed out and _die_ before you can decide!"

One look at her was all that someone would need to tell that she was struggling to remain conscious, let alone alive. Her breathing was becoming more labored and her eyelids were fighting her attempts to remain open. Leon was helping her keep pressure on the wound which was slowing the flow of blood, but with the spear still in her leg it was a losing battle.

Makoto could see that as well when he glanced back; I didn't need to see his expression to know that much. The poor boy was beside himself with his thoughts, not wanting to sacrifice either party.

But the worst part was her expression of dejected acceptance. It was clear from her eyes; she knew there was no way Makoto would be able to choose between her and his sister. Or rather, she knew that he would chose his sister over her; she would have done the same in his shoes. No matter how much she loved someone, no matter how many time Junko tried to kill her, Mukuro would chose her sister every time.

"I… I chose…" The poor, unfortunate luckster clenched his fist as he gathered his resolve. Staring into the eyes of his suffering classmate, he swallowed the lump in his throat, and prepared to make his choice. "I choose my f…"

So it was a bit of a shock for all of us when someone else decided to speak up, cutting him off in the process.

"Then take my lifeline." All eyes snapped towards the source of the voice, confusion and concern radiating from everyone's sight towards the speaker. Of all of them, none expected it to have come from whom it did.

"You sure about that miss Kiyoko?" Hifumi asked, just as bewildered as the rest of the students on her sudden decision. "Once you cash in your line, you won't get another one-up. It'll become an all or nothing game for you."

"That's fine." The light purple haired girl said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and closed her amethyst eyes. "I'm well aware of what this will cost me. I don't need to be reminded."

"Kirigiri." Breathed the luckster, stunned by her sudden sacrifice. To give up her precious person to save her classmate, her ability to risk that was awe inspiring.

He wasn't the only one though. From her prone position, Mukuro stared at the violet themed detective completely shocked that she would attempt such a risk for her; especially considering what would be lost by this decision. Even if you didn't know that she was suffering from amnesia and that her lifeline may have the answers she sought like Mukuro and I did, she was still giving up her family member to save the life of a classmate. That took guts.

Add in the fact that she would be giving up any chance of saving the elderly man should anything happen and you've got another despairing recipe for all to try. Completely topped with a whipped cream made of the feelings of regret the others would feel for not jumping in as she did, and a cherry of Makoto's mixed feelings from being cut off from announcing his decision.

…Darn it. Now I'm hungry.

"Sure, just come over here and I'll make the exchange." Sure enough, she walked right over without a hint of hesitation and presented her band to the bear. Extending one of Monokuma's claws, I maneuvered the bear to lightly tap the red lens on the band, careful not to damage it. It didn't actually do anything, but I made it look like it did.

"All right then. She'll be spared from execution then." I confirmed to the sighs of relief of some of the others; time to fix that. "But there's still the issue of her probationary punishment."

That caught them by surprise. "What the fuck man! You just said she was getting out of that!"

I growled at the biker for his unwanted shouting, completely sick of being interrupted so much. "Oh for the love of…Shut up and let me finish! I only said she'd be getting out being executed, she still broke a rule, so as any rule breaker should, she still needs to be punished for it! It's only fair."

"Bullshit!" responded Leon from his position next to the girl in question, not even slightly convinced that was my reason for doing this. "You're just doing this because she…!"

"Whatever she has or has not done in the past is irrelevant to the here and now!" I swiftly and loudly interrupted, not wanting him to blow my cover. "She has broken a sacred rule and is to endure to consequences of her actions! I said there would be no exceptions and I meant it!"

Taking a moment to breathe, I continued more calmly. "That is why I asked mister Makoto here if he was willing to _share_ the punishment with her. _Obviously_ I'll reduce the severity of the punishment if someone is willing to help foot the penalty."

In that moment something clicked in Chihiro's head. "Oh, but doesn't that mean Kirigiri-san didn't need to give up her life line at all?"

Waving my hand in dismissal, I continued. "Not so fast. That 'lifeline exchange' is the only reason I'm allowing her to live. Be thankful I'm even allowing that. Speaking of which…"

Turning to the rest of the students I walked closer to their downed comrade. Mukuro grimaced when Monokuma got closer, but she was far too week to retaliate should I have wanted to make the blood splattered half and half bear harm her. Not that I would, but still. Several of the stronger students moved in front of my puppet in case I tried such a thing. Sakura especially stood strong in this regard, which I found truly endearing, but there was no need.

"You might want to get her to the infirmary before that wound gets infected. I haven't really had time to properly sanitize the all-mighty spears in a good while."

My sickish speech delivered, Monokuma pulled an about face and headed back to the stage, all the while ignoring the other students faces of disbelief and outrage. "Now, I'm going to go get cleaned up while I think of a proper punishment for you, should you survive. I'll be back soon, so please clean yourself up a bit for my return. Chao!"

And with that, I dropped the bear back into the vents, gave it a command to find a place to get cleaned up, apparently they had a sanitizing station for them here somewhere, and moved to the monitor room to watch the rest of the students. As I did though, I made sure to grab Yasuke's journal from where I'd left it on the edge of the display monitor. With all that had been going on, I'd been neglecting my reading it for answers on my situation and I felt now would be a good time to try and catch up on it.

That, and I didn't want to watch them patch her up on the off chance that they failed and she died. I wouldn't be able to stand myself if I were to watch that.

Opening up to the page I'd left my bookmark on, with shaky breaths I began looking for the next readable page, keeping my ears open to the monitors as I did. I only hope that this goes well.

* * *

"Easy now, let her down gently."

Following the instructions of the small programmer, both Sakura and Asahina carefully set down their injured classmate down onto the last medical bed in the infirmary, being gentle so as to not aggravate the spear wound in her leg. Behind them, the others stood crowding the door way, every other student ready to assist if necessary. It hadn't taken much debate from the others to have the two more physically fit girls carry Junko to the office, despite the amount of man power they had.

Makoto, Leon, Mondo, and Kiyotaka had all volunteered to help carry her themselves, the former two more pressing then the others. However, as Aoi pointed out, they were men and it would probably be better if Junko wasn't being felt up by a guy while she was injured like this. Naturally, the guys denied that they would even think about trying anything like that, but Hina wasn't going to let it drop. So, with some persuasion from Chihiro and a vow from Sakura that she wouldn't drop the wounded fashion icon, they two athletic girls picked up their friend into the fighter's arms, and with Aoi walking alongside her just in case, they made their way to the nurse's office while the boys handled the doors for them.

"There you go, Junko." Stated the tan skinned swimmer, "Now, we just need to figure out how to get this out."

The others all crowded around as they examined the wound more closely, each trying to think of a way to remove it without causing too much more damage to her leg.

"Could we just push it back out the way it went in?" inquired Hifumi, the fan content creator scratching at his chin as he racked his brain of every Manga, movie, and fanfic he'd seen with this kind of injury and how it was dealt with there. He wasn't able to think of any just yet that didn't get healed by some kind of spell or regenerative power, but he was trying his hardest.

"What are you, dense? Do you not see how far that thing is in her?" the pompadour haired biker questioned angrily, trying to keep from blowing up at the round fanfic writer for even suggesting something so stupid. "I've seen things like this before, you got to use the shorter side."

"Where would you see something like this?" inquired Leon, legitimately confused and concerned as to the answer.

The burly biker shrugged his shoulders and stated, "You'd be surprised how many of my gang's new recruits would accidentally get something stabbed into them. It's kinda rare, but it still happens from time to time."

"I pity anyone who joins your gang then." Muttered the socially reclusive writer as she stood near the back line, trying to stay out of sight as best she could. Her hemophobia was only one of the reasons she stayed back. In all of the chaos, she had almost gotten a full on view of the wound. It was only through quick panic induced thinking that she managed to cover her eyes in time to avoid any accidence. Now, she was just trying to keep calm and in control of herself as she stayed in the back chewing on her thumbnail.

"Well, whatever you're planning to do, you'd best hurry it up. She doesn't have that much time left." Byakuya stated as he looked through the cabinets of the room with Kyoko and Sakura, trying to find some supplies to help the bleeding girl on deaths doorstep. It was a bit of a shock to the others to see him helping out with this, considering how he'd been acting like a complete tool the entire time.

"Why are you helping anyway?" asked the agitated all-star, suspicious of the rich boy's motive in all of this. It wasn't as if Leon wasn't grateful for the help, but it was a bit concerning to see the only one of them who had seemingly embraced the idea of killing to escape this game suddenly contradicting himself by going out of his way to help their fellow player. It went against everything he knew of the almost reclusive heir and caused red flags to wave in his head.

This thought of suspicion was also held by a few of the other students, but they weren't able to voice them due to the insulted scoff of the wealthy teen. "I don't need to tell you anything. The fact that I'm even lending my assistance to you half-wits should be more than enough for you. Be grateful that I'm willing to help at all."

The former pro athlete clicked his teeth together at that, but he was silent aside from a sneeringly thrown out, "Whatever man." Already sick of Togami's attitude and wanting to help out himself, he went over to the where he remembered Junko putting the sewing needle and thread last night, as well as the antiseptic, and starting sanitizing it for when it was needed.

Once he was done with that, and after he put them on a clean tray, he walked over to the miniature fridge next to where Kirigiri was investigating and proceeded to open the door and rifle through the blood bags inside. "Hey Junko? What's your blood type?"

His question was met with some raised eyebrows from the others, even from the very girl he was asking. Weakly, Junko raised her head to say something, but before she could get a word out she was interrupted by Mondo. "What are you asking for?"

Not looking away from what he was doing, Leon was about to state his reason when he was surprisingly cut off by the purple themed girl next to him. "Enoshima has lost a lot of blood already, and she's going to lose even more when we remove the spear. It would be in our best interest to have a transfusion ready to keep her steady."

"What she said." Agreed the red head as he continued to look for the right type of blood. "Now, someone tell me her blood type already. It's in her handbook."

It didn't take long for them to find the information Leon needed, and soon he was next to the barely conscious girl with the IV ready to be inserted into her wrist. Applying bit of the antiseptic to her arm at the soft point opposite of her elbow and wiping it clean, he proceeded to carefully insert the needle into her vain. As he continued his work checking to make sure the IV stand wouldn't fall over, he was suddenly acutely aware of the staring eyes of his fellow classmates upon his form. "What?"

"Wow, Leon." Stated Aoi as she stared at his work surprised, "Where'd you learn to do all of this?"

Her words were continued by Chihiro, an equal amount of shock peppering her words as she said, "I didn't know you knew about this."

Leon froze in his work, not expecting to be asked about his sudden medical skill. If he were to be honest, he didn't actually know what he was doing, he was just repeating what he'd seen Junko do last night a best as he could. But he couldn't tell them that. He had to keep his word.

It was a bit challenging to keep last night a secret from the others already. A great part of him still wanted to speak up about what had happened, to tell them that Maizono had attacked him last night and had stabbed Hiro when she had failed to kill him.

Unfortunately, he still had a promise to keep, so he slapped a smile on his face as best he could, and turned to the others trying to keep cool. "Y-Yeah, I know, right? I've seen a few doctor shows with my, uh, my cousin a few times. I guess some of it stuck."

Inwardly he cringed at his stutter, afraid that it would give him away, but it seemed to work on some of the others like Hina and Chihiro who's eyes seemed to shimmer in the light and making him feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately, a certain mistress of lies and the Affluent prodigy weren't so easily fooled, if their suspicious glares where any indication.

"Is that so?" commented the Lolita gambler one of her hands raised over her mouth as she glared at him with suspicion. "You wouldn't happen to know the _name_ of those shows, would you?"

The baseball all-star gave her his most convincing grin that he could. "W-Well, not really. It's been awhile a-and I never really payed to the titles. I think it was called "Trauma Hospital" or something- "

"We don't have time for this." Interrupted Kyoko with a stern glare. "We still have to take care of the spear."

Thanking his lucky stars, Leon was quick to take the opportunity to change topics. "Yeah, you're right. Okay, anyone got any ideas?"

For a moment, the others were silent. Eventually, a lightbulb went off in the resident fan content creator's head as he called out, "Miss Ogami! Perhaps you could break off part of the spear so that we can slide it out quickly. With your incredible strength, it shouldn't be much of a problem, right?"

The fighter was about to respond to the chubby boy's inquiry, when the white clad moral unintentionally interrupted. "Not so fast! Even if Ogami were able to bend the rod, it could cause it to shatter and leave shards in her leg when we remove it!"

"Yeah, we know that!" rebutted Owada aggressively, his teeth grinding at the constant noise of everyone else in this stressful situation. "But we don't have any other options here right now!"

"Enough." Any further debating was quickly tossed when the muscle bound women decided to take initiative and stepped forth. Standing next to the injured girl, Sakura gently grabbed hold of the rod protruding from her leg. Turning her head, she looked the strawberry blond women in the eye with a gentle look that caught the woman off guard and softly said. "I'll make it quick, but this will hurt. Are you ready?"

'Junko' looked Sakura in the eye, momentarily confused as to what she was going to do. With her struggling to regain consciousness she had started to drown out the others in order to focus. But, when the ultimate fighter grabbed the spear with both of her massive hands, it didn't take much for her to realize what was about to happen.

Nodding grimly with understanding, 'Junko' grit her teeth and closed her eyes in preparation. Nodding back, Sakura gripped the spear even harder and with one swift movement, she snapped the thin metal rod then quickly pulled it out of the disguised girl's leg. Mukuro did her best to suppress her scream of pain, but she was only able to do so much.

After a moment, the pain settled down enough for her to open her eyes again and she slowly looked back down to look at the damage. From what she could see, it wasn't as bad as she feared. There didn't seem to be any frayed nerves or ruptured arteries. If anything, it looked like the puncture was far cleaner than anticipated. A small blessing, one could say; if she didn't already know that it was her sister's analytical skills at work that allowed her survival.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop the spots in her eyes from forming, nor did it prevent her vision from blurring even more drastically. Her strength fading, she barely registered the others coming to her side. Someone was shouting, their tone sounding very urgent, but she couldn't quite make it out through the pounding of her heart in her ears and her own heavy breathing. She was just so tired.

As her eyes closed, she wondered if this would be where her story ends. If this was how she was supposed to end her tales as the "Ultimate Soldier". Not in the fields of battle where she was at her best, mowing down enemies until she simply couldn't anymore and joined the bodies around her; but hopelessly on a gurney surrounded by the very peers she was commended to kill as they tried to save her life.

With the last of her consciousness fading, Mukuro wondered if this was the despair that her sister was so enamored with. If this was the feeling that she wanted to feel so desperately that she drove the world into the ground to feel it. She didn't know if this soul crushing feeling was what her sister truly wanted to feel, but she did know one thing.

If she survived this, she was going to make sure that her sister never experiences this kind of pain for as long as she could help it. This she swore.

* * *

"Well then. That was… interesting?"

My confusion might have come off as a bit strange to you, but I assure you that it was warranted. Not five seconds into the next legible entry in the book, I had come across a bit of information that had blown my mind wide open. The entry read as such.

" _Well, I kind of expected Junko to find someone new to play with eventually, but I didn't expect her to go after the "Ultimate Gamer" already."_

The "Ultimate Gamer", a title I didn't think I'd see for a long time yet. The title of someone who I's assumed didn't actually exist. This person?

Chiaki Nanami.

In the second game, Chiaki had been one of the one unfortunate enough to be dragged into another of Junko's killing games. This one specifically being made for same class that Soda, Tsumiki, and Nidai had been a part of. At the risk of spoiling things for people, she was reviled in the last couple chapters as a member for cooperation that was trying to restore hope in the world; yet, at the same time was partially responsible for their situation. But the biggest revelation came in the last chapter, where she was shown to actually be an artificially created intelligence.

A computer program. A fake person.

Now, like a lot of people, I didn't care that she was technically a fake. Throughout the whole game, she had been the rock that kept most of the group stable. Every time one of their own fell for the temptations of Monokuma's motives, she was one of the few who generally kept the others from falling off of the deep end. It didn't matter that she wasn't real, she was one of the best characters that had the unfortunate displeasure to parish from another's actions.

However, that wasn't here or now. If what I was reading was accurate, then she actually _did_ exist as a real person at one point. That was just blowing my mind as it was, but the page continued.

" _This afternoon, I had gone back to her dorm to check up on her again. The troublesome girl has been recovering quite a bit quicker then I'd expected, but I wanted to make sure she wouldn't go and die on me the one time I didn't think to check. However, when I walked in like I usually do, I didn't find her alone messing around with whatever nonsense that had grabbed her attention today, or pulling off one of her domination nonsense sessions with her sister, but she actually had invited over a guest for once._

 _Apparently, she had found the game chick hanging outside of the reserve course building, moping over some boy she'd been waiting for forever. Surprisingly, Junko actually decided to drag the poor girl over here to play some games. I didn't even know that she had any._

 _One thing that really concerned my though was her outfit. Once again, despite my attempts to get rid of that ugly blue hoodie, on her request no less, she was garbed in it once again. To make things weirder, she had apparently found or made some kind of grinning skull mask and she had it resting on the side of her head. When I asked her about it, she just said, "It was a gift for getting a ton of work done, bonehead; a skele-ton." Before winking at me while using her phone to play a rim shot sound. While I was trying to pick up the shattered remains of my physic from that stupid pun, class president Chiaki was trying to stop giggling at me. I really didn't see what was so funny._

 _I decided to hang around for a bit longer. Just to observe this unusual behavior that was going on. It was strange; stranger than normal. Normally, Junko would be trying to do something mean to whomever it was that was with her. Casually insulting them, degrading them, doing whatever she wanted to break their spirits. Yet, none of that was happening here. She was being nice and courteous, offering drinks and food with a smile; an actual honest smile instead of that ugly fake one that she usually gives people. She gave out helpful commentary on what they were doing instead of that passive aggressive BS she usually gives everyone. She even laughed at a few jokes they had shared that went completely over my head. She didn't even whine about being bored once._

 _I honestly don't know how I should feel about this. On the one hand, this was the happiest I'd ever seen her. There was a real smile on her face for the first time in our life. She was making friends without instantly stabbing them in the back, just because she could. I'd been so worried that she would end up alone by her own hands for so long that this sudden shift in character towards making friends instead of breaking them is actually starting to feel like a blessing._

 _But that's the problem. It's to sudden, to different. Not even her quirk of swapping out personality traits out of sheer boredom was this drastic; and even when they were, she usually dropped them within an hour or two. The longest one she'd ever kept was when she picked up pair of glasses and started acting like a stuck-up teacher for a couple of classes. She even got the actual teacher to sit down and listen._

 _However, this was different. This was to…genuine. To sincere. Not even her despair fetish felt as real as what I was witnessing right now. It was like I was looking at a completely different person._

 _And the worst part? I think I'm starting to like this Junko more."_

That…That was certainly something I'd never thought I'd see in here. To think that someone I'd thought was fake was actually a real person this whole time, and that she was someone I'd actually tried a befriend. That's actually pretty cool.

But that raised the question. If she was as real as this page made her out to be, for what reason was there an AI version of her in the second instalment in the series? Did something happen to her?

I wanted to continue this train of thought, try and figure out what had happened to her, when I happened to glance at the monitor for the infirmary. From what I could see, they had managed to clean up Mukuro's leg and wrap it up tightly. I could see that the needle and thread next to the bottle of hydrogen peroxide on the operating table, so I guess that they properly stitched and sanitized her wounds as well. She wasn't conscious, which was a bit concerning, but it appeared that she was going to live through this.

However, that only momentarily held my attention as it turns out that the hobo was starting to stir. Wanting to keep up with their conversation, I reluctantly put down the journal and turned back to the cameras.

After all, I still had a job to do.

* * *

'Ugh, what happened'

Yasuhiro groaned aloud as he slowly awoke, his head pounding. Raising his hand, he placed it on the back of his skull and felt around for the cause of his splitting headache. Sure enough, he winced and pulled his hand away when his fingertips brushed up against a sizable knot on his scalp. He could only guess as to its cause.

'Did those mob guys finally find me?' he wondered briefly. It wouldn't surprise him too much. After he botched up and tried to get a loan from them, he'd been running from them. It was the main reason he had been unable to finish high school in the first place, and why only when Hope's Peak picked him up that he decided to continue his education.

After all, who'd think to look for a dead broke fortune-teller in a prestigious school like that? Exactly.

However, when his fingers felt a strip of cloth, he started to reevaluate that thought of being kidnaped.

'Hold on, since when do mob bosses patch up their victims?' he wondered to himself as he felt it, careful to avoid knocking it loose. He'd had enough bad experiences to recognize the feeling of bandages. But, unless he had it wrong, mobsters didn't tend to keep their victims patched up.

He would have jumped to the conclusion that he'd been abducted by aliens, but everything he knew about the extraterrestrial suggested that he shouldn't have been able to even attempt to move, let alone touching his head where bandages lay. The same argument could probably apply to the mobsters, but he'd already dropped that line of thought.

Now tired of this and wanting to see what the hell was going on, he attempted to sit up; only to immediately regret it when a sharp spike of pain lanced up his spine from his side and nearly caused him to scream. Another surge of panic gripped him when he thought about what that could mean.

'Did I get jumped for my kidney!?' he'd heard about things like that happening to people rarely, but he'd never thought it would happen to him any time soon.

'Wait,' he thought when he noticed something was missing for that to be the case. 'where's the bath full of ice cubes?'

Everything he heard about this kind of thing happening said that, 'if you wake up in a tub full of ice with a pain in your side, it's best to assume that you just lost a kidney.' Well, he had the pain, but none of the ice bath going on. This could mean one of two things. Either he got an incompetent organ thief who didn't know the standard process, or he didn't lose his guts and just got stabbed for no reason.

He honestly didn't know which was worst.

"Hey!" Came the startled cry of some girl with a high pitched voice that seemed a bit really familiar, yet he couldn't seem to remember. "Guys! Hiro's waking up."

Groaning when his ears began to ring from whoever it was that was shouting, Hiro regretfully forced his eyes to open to see what was going on. At first, his vision was really blurry and he couldn't make out the figures before him, and he feared he might have gone blind, but after some rapid blinking his sight began to clear up and allowed him to see the concerned gazes of his friends. He sighed in relief, happy to know that whatever happened, he at least had these guys to back him up.

Well, maybe not Byakuya.

"H-Hey guys." He stuttered weakly, trying to get a good look at the others without agitating his side. "What-what happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us that." Kiyoko said as she stepped closer to him and grabbing his full attention.

"What do you mean?" He asked, not sure what she was talking about. The fog of sleep hadn't fully left his head yet so he was still a bit groggy.

"Hiro?" Asked another voice on the other side of the bed, forcing him to pull his gaze away from the purple themed girl to look at his other friend, Makoto. "Please, do you know what happened last night?"

'Last night? What happened last-?' His thoughts where cut off when a sharp lance of pain lanced through his skull. Flashes of the night before run across the insides of his eyelids far too fast for him to properly register it. Grabbing his head from the pain, he tried futilely to sooth his head pounding from the jumbled miss of memories bouncing around in his head.

"Whoa man, calm down." His pain momentarily settled as his buddy Leon grabbed his arm and caused him to look at the baseball player. "It's okay, dude. Relax. Just take your time. What do you remember of last night?"

Still clutching his head, Yasuhiro took a deep breath and tried to focus. It wasn't easy, even without the pain in his head and side distracting him, he'd never really been the kind of person to organize that much. In was only made more difficult when you consider the concussion he no doubt had, but he tried his hardest to try.

"I- I remember… ugh, no wait. I was just getting out of the cafeteria and I was looking for my crystal ball I'd lost the day before. I… I think I'd just found it in a pile of clothes, so I was going to go to bed, then…" He cut himself off as he tried think. He tried to come up with further information, he focused for a solid minute on that one piece of the puzzle that he hoped would reveal his attacker.

Then his hands shot up into his massive locks as he cried out, "WHY I CAN'T REMEMBER!?"

He was practically beside himself now, gripping his large afro as he tried to metaphorically pull the information out of his head. His scalp screamed at him to stop this nonsense that even he would admit was rather stupid, but he didn't care. He was desperate to remember what else had happened to cause him to be placed into this bed.

So focused on his personal crisis from memory loss, he almost didn't notice Makoto and Leon grabbing his arms. "Hiro! Calm down!"

* * *

While this all was going on, a certain heir was off to the side scoffing at the ridiculous display going on. "Such foolishness. Apparently, Yasuhiro's uselessness continues to hinder us. As usual."

"I disagree." Stated Kiyoko from her place against the wall, her comment catching the attention of those nearby. "Now we have a better idea as to where this happened. Or, at least part of it."

Almost reluctantly, Byakuya had to give her a point. "Right, the laundry room. Very well then, I shall see you pedestrians later."

No longer content to wait around anymore, the inheritor to the Togami empire started making his way to the door. Sadly, before he could even reach the halfway point, he was interrupted by the blasted moral getting in his way with another one of his spiels.

"Togami, where are you going?" the white coated annoyance questioned, as if he had the authority to actually demand anything of Byakuya. "We need to stay together to prevent another occurrence, like with what happened to our comrades!"

Byakuya scoffed at him. What a joke this bushy browed annoyance proclaimed. Comrades, allies, friends? No, there was no such thing here. As the two, now three, teens laying in the beds should have proved, they were only a bunch of baying sheep to a wolf that was hiding amongst them. Couldn't they see that?

"I don't know why I should be telling you anything, but if you must know, I'm going to investigate the crime scene." Turning so that he could address the others, he continued. "In case you plebeians haven't figured it out yet, we still have a traitor in our mites. It wouldn't be wise to just let this go without some form of investigation."

Giving the fools a chance to digest that piece of intel, he crossed his arms once more and continued. "Besides that, I have my doubts that our captor called that meeting for no reason. It would be best that we all prepare for the class trial before then."

"B-But," the purple nuisance standing by the door butted in, further irritating the blond billionaire with her insisted weakness. "M-Monokuma said t-that, there w-wouldn't b-be a trial."

"Don't be so naïve." He rebutted with a sigh at this purple witch's continued stupidity. Once again, it would seem that it would have to fall to him to educate the unwashed masses; literally in her case, judging by the retched smell wafting off of her. "If it wasn't already obvious, our captor is putting an impressive amount of effort in to make us kill one another. They have gone above and beyond the point of insanity to make sure we play along in their little game, even going so far as to capture our loved ones. So, with this in mind, I ask you. Do you honestly think they will miss out on an opportunity to have us at each other's throats with a class trial?"

He didn't even wait for her answer, already sure that his point had been made, and he brushed past her without a thought. "If it's all the same with you louts, I would rather have something to prepare for the inevitable instead of wasting time with a couple unconscious women and that shame to fortune tellers."

With his piece said, the ultimate heir left the room.


	12. Clues to Despair

"Geez, what a jackass." I had to resist bursting out in laughter and giving my Monokuma away at Mondo's quip. I hate to agree with a gang leader on principle only, but I had to agree with him on this. As expected, Byakuya was the first one to break off from the group and begin the investigation; with or without my prompting.

He was such a cocky ass during the first few chapters, _especially_ in the first two chapters. It was infuriating most of the time, at minimum, and it was the entire reason most people wanted to see him parish in the first place. I myself just wanted him to be knocked down a few pegs, but I won't pretend that I would have shed a tear had he kicked the bucket.

"Regardless, he has a point." Replied Kyoko, still as stoic as usual. "It would be best if we investigate before Monokuma tries anything else to impede our search."

Ah, that's a cue if I ever heard one. Making the bear walk out from under the counter, I listened to Hina ask, "do you think he'll do something like that?" and decided to make myself known.

"Like what?" I asked, startling the hell out of her with my appearance behind her, resulting in her practically leaping into the arms of the closest form of protection she could find with an absolutely adorable yip; and by that, I meant Sakura caught her, of course. "Oh, that is just precious."

"Stop doing that!" She yelled at the bear with her cheeks all aglow as Sakura held her aloft effortlessly. Though only Hina seemed to be red in the face, both she and the ultimate fighter were glaring daggers at Monokuma. "What do you even want now?"

"Aw, what? I can't just visit my cute little students?" My sarcasm was once again underappreciated as the teens glares intensified. Jeez. "Alright, alright, fine. I had some time to think about it, and I've finally decided on what kind of punishment to give to our little rule breaker."

The glares quickly faded for looks of apprehension as I turned to focus on my comatose sister, my bear's squeaky feet seeming far more intimidating then it had any right to be. As I got a bit closer, I took my time to look at their patch job on her leg.

I had to admit, I had to turn off the mic momentarily as another wave of bile threatened to end up all over the controls. It was about as bad as I'd expected.

Oh, not the wrappings; those were fine. Each wrapping was carefully placed and held the thick pads of cloth against her wounds tightly. There were a couple of blood stains that had managed to make it through, but it didn't seem all that bad compared to what it had been. Especially since the stain on the edge of the bed dripped all the way down to the floor and the two halves of the blooded spear had been haphazardly tossed on the ground.

I was more referring to the shame I felt gnawing at my stomach and making me feel even more sickly. I had done this to her. I had consciously gone out of my way to run this poor woman's leg through, ruining who knows how many ligaments and tendons in the proses; and for what? What was my reasoning for this poorly made choice?

Because I couldn't stand her standing up to me. Even knowing that it was just an act, I still reacted as if it were fact. And like a brat, I'd snapped and attacked her for no good reason.

What was worst, there didn't have to be such an incident. All I had to do was stay on the flipping stage and none of this would have happened. But no, I just had to get down to their level where these events would happen. I just _had_ to be dramatic about things.

It was heart wrenching to see her like this, a mostly noble solider struck down by the idiot running her sister's body, all because he couldn't control his own ego and stick to the plan he had made for himself to follow. I didn't care that the same result would happened had Junko been the one to do it, the fact that I had been the one to in this case was a big pill to swallow. At this rate, my calling myself Junko might become more fact then fiction.

I was taken out of my self-destructive musings when a certain lucky boy stepped into my line of sight. While I was, a bit taken aback, I did my best to recover quickly. "Well, well, well. What do you think you're doing, hmm?"

Makoto frowned at me and held his arms out to block me from accessing his friend, a steely glint in his eyes that hadn't been there before. It was rather nice to see him with a backbone, though I could see past the image he was trying to instill on me. His knees were shaking ever so slightly, and a sheen of perspiration on his forehead. His gaze, though strong, still held a slight trace of doubt that kept me from feeling any form of steadfast resolve. Credit where it's due though, it was an improvement over the last time he stepped up.

"Leave her alone." He told me in no uncertain terms. "She's already been through enough."

I had the bear tilt its head to one side, saying, "Are you sure about that?"

His glare swapped out for a confused one for a moment, but it returned about just as fast. "What do- Yes, I'm sure!"

I gave of another one of Monokuma's signature laughs and mocked him with, "Oh, you think you do, do you? You think you know anything about her really. Like a psyche analyst or some nonsense, you think you know so much about her after only a week in her company. That's so sweet that I might just vomit and die from sheer diabetes overdose."

Straightening the bear up, I dropped the happy attitude faster than you could say, "bipolar", and stated while cracking my knuckles, "Alright then tough guy, how about we check that little theory of yours with a little test."

Faster than he could say "huh?" I took full control of Monokuma. With my fingers practically flying across the keyboard, I had him leap over Makoto onto the bed, pulling off a nice triple front flip in the process, before quickly turning in place and grabbing onto his arm and yanking him off balance. As he and the others gasped in shock, I was quick to force both his and Mukuro's bands together and rapidly began pressing nonessential spots all over both heart monitors before abruptly letting go, causing him to lose what was left of his balance and fall on the floor.

Not quite done with my performance, I had Monokuma preform a leaping pirouette over him before sticking the landing in front of the other students. Only partially surprising to me, the others took a slight step back at the sight, as if expecting the bear to suddenly leap at them next. They were stunned by the sight of the fat bear practically defying everything they thought they knew about it with that display, so it was understandable that they'd gain a new reason to be wary of the plushy.

Straightening up from his fall with a slight groan, Makoto rubbed his wrist gently and began to look at his arm band. Of course, he couldn't find anything since I hadn't done anything, but the freaked-out expression he made was all worth it. "What did you do?"

"Oh nothing much," I breathed out, ignoring my jamming heart beat as best that I could, that had been far more exhilarating then I'd expected it would be. "I just decided, if you're so sure of that slut, then why not swap out something important of yours with something roughly as important to her, and we'll see how well she treats it. Just a small thing, nothing much, you'll barely even miss it. I only swapped out… your _lifelines_."

Gasps from the others from behind me told me that the others understood what I was referring to, just as well as the widening eyes of the boy before me. "Swapped their- You can do that!?"

With turning of a plush heel, I had the bear pad the back of its head sheepishly to Asahina's question and continued to completely fib about things. "Of course I can. It's barely even a challenge for me to do this kind of thing. Though, to be fair mister Makoto, you did volunteer to share her punishment."

"I did?" he questioned, but it would go unanswered as I walked the Monokuma back to the center of the room.

"In any case, now that _that_ problem has been resolved, I would like to ask the rest of you a question. How would you like to know who attacked your friends last night?"

Of course, I was immediately met with cries of, "you serious?" shouts of "of course!" and one yell of "justice must be made swift!" as I had expected, but it was when Kyoko stepped forward that I got the question I was waiting for.

"What's the catch?" She asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion as her stern tone reminded the others of who they were dealing with in the first place. I gave a small chuckle at that. They had no idea.

"Oh, it's not so much a 'catch'; more like, it's a decision for you all to make." I paused to see if I had their full attention, and while some of them were looking at each other curiously, I did have most of their eyes on me. "You see; I want to give you the answers without any hassle. Get it done and over with, no mess, no fuss. However, as a firm believer of the education system, and the fact that I could lose my job by doing that, I have to take any chance I can to teach you on some level."

"Fortunately for you all, I'm also a believer of choice, so I've got a couple of options for you. One, you all can do whatever you like for the day without any answers. Investigate, throw a fit, read a book if you got one; it's all on you. While this is happening, I will clean up the entirety of the crime scenes and we'll just pretend that none of this ever happened. I mean, yeah, the suspect will get away with it and might try again later, but you got to roll with it sometimes. Plus, on the off chance they do try again, I'll be nice and give you all a freebee point in their general direction."

Most of them didn't look to excited about that option. "Two, we could host a supplement class trial. Now hold your horses, let me explain." I stated when it appeared some of them were about to get uppity with me.

"Now, a supplement class trial is admittedly quite like a regular class trial in regards to the basic rules; I won't deny that. Thankfully, this is a bit different. For starters, while you're investigating, you may call on my assistance for a small hint if you so desire. Be warned that each hint will cost a _lot_ of Mono-tokens and you may only have three per person, so pick your hints carefully. Next difference is, when you get to the actual trial, the rules change a bit. You will still debate over who done it, and afterwards, whether your guess is correct or not, I will reveal who the perp was for you before you vote on their fate. Simple, no?"

I looked up at their faces as they glanced around worriedly, not liking either choice. More than a few of them even grimaced when Kiyoko summarized for me. "I see. So basically, we either pretend that nothing happened and let the culprit have another chance, or risk everything in a class trail and guaranty them getting caught."

"Yep!" I stated in a chipper tone. "Of course, this all depends on whether you all vote on it. I'm talking majority votes people, and whichever one you all vote on will change the outcome of the day before us. So, what do you all say?"

For a while, no one spoke. I don't know if it was a result of them honestly thinking about their vote, or if they were just scared out of their wits, but I was patent as I watched them silently looked at each other with questioning gazes. Eventually, someone decided to speak up with their thoughts.

"I-I think we should hold the trial." Mumbled out Hagakure from his spot on the bed, causing everyone gazes to wonder over to him in surprise as he sat there gripping the sheets that had been covering him. His face was down, so they couldn't see his expression behind his crazy do, but I with Monokuma's much lower perspective, could see him chewing on his lip.

"Dude, are you insane?" Leon stated to the hobo like fortune teller, honestly shocked that he would vote for something like that. "If we mess up, then we're all-"

"I know!" Hiro interrupted loudly, his hands now moving up and grabbing at his hair before he continued in a softer voice. "I know. But I can't…I can't just let it go, man. I almost freaking died last night! A-and now I'm hearing that they could just get away with it and just try again? I don't want that hanging over my head. I don't want to be up every night, worried that they could come and finish what they started. I've been on the streets guys! I've seen what that can do to people! I don't want to be one of those straight jacket, crack cases. I-I don't…"

The others were as stunned as I was at the sight of him breaking down like that. For the whole past week, it was as if nothing could faze that ignorant attitude of his, no matter what anyone had said. Nothing had could shake him from his belief that this was all just a set up by the academy. So to see him in this broken, sobbing state, it tore at the heart strings.

A sigh came from one of the others before the ultimate biker stepped forward with his hands in his jacket. "Yeah, I got ya. You want justice done, right? Well, we aren't gonna get it done with our thumbs up our asses. I say we go for it."

With his hands pressing into the table, Kiyotaka grit his teeth as he made his decision. "Owada is right. We can't let what has happened blind us. We must find the guilty party in this case before they do anything else!"

The three teens statements appeared to have struck a chord with most of the others, their wary faces slowly morphing into more resolute looks. There were still some like Chihiro and Hifumi that seemed conflicted on the matter, but they seemed like they were ready to help as best as they could despite their trepidation. However, one student didn't seem so enthused.

"I-I don't know guys," stated Leon as a thick bead of sweat rolled down his face. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I want to find out who did this as much as the next guy, but I'm not sure we really need to have a trial over it. Can't we just, you know look at it ourselves and try and figure it out without it?"

I could tell he was nervous about offending the other's choice in the matter, and to be fair, no one wanted to go against the biker gang leader without a good reason. I could also see his reasoning on the matter as well. Why risk it when you don't need to? If you didn't have anything to risk it, would you have investigated any crime scene without a reason?

Unfortunately for him, our resident amnesiac detective was going to blow away that idea. "But, then Monokuma would interfere with his "cleaning up" and we could lose valuable clues in the process."

I had to agree with her on that one. "She's right you know."

He grit his teeth at that remark of mine, knowing that he was beat. Once more he was out of ways to win this fight of wills, and he knew it. So, with clenched fists, he slapped on his best scowl befitting his punk style and stated, "I know she's right, man! I was just making sure you guys weren't gonna back down on me! Yeah! No way am I gonna let this stupid bear stop us from finding the truth!"

"I really don't appreciate you talking like I'm not here." I pointed, drawing his glare to my Monokuma.

"You're not involved right now!"

"…I'm feeling pretty involved…But, I can take a hint. I'm out, dog. See ya at the trial." And with that remark, I quickly vacated then premises and swapped out the Monokuma's control screen for another, more relevant one. The Monokuma files.

Well, that wasn't the official name for it, the real name being forensic files, but that was what it was called in the documents. So, who was I to judge?

Now, the file itself was a program that was used to make forensic reports on a corpse for other people who were more squeamish. It was surprisingly simple to use, all you needed to do was input some basic information on the subject, things like their name, weight, height, body type, and things like that. After that, all you needed to add was some minor additions in the notes, like time of death, the kind of injuries and their location on the body, and the place it happened. In was rather convenient. Props to whoever programed it.

The best part about it was that it had a little feature in it that let you use a full body picture of the person to make a two-facing silhouette of them that would then be labeled with blood splotches almost exactly like whatever information you put in it. Not gonna lie, I spent a good solid hour messing with it the first time I found it.

I'm easily amused, so sue me.

Thankfully, the school files I had on these guys made it very easy to put together the files for both injured parties as it came with all the information I would ever had needed. It even had their profile pictures, surprisingly, which meant that all I had to do was drag the image into the forensic program for it to figure out and add the notes.

You got to love technology.

Anyway, once I'd finished imputing the data and saved the two files, all I needed to do was to send them to the student's handbooks. Interestingly enough, the school computer had a feature that allowed the headmaster to send out a mass email to all students within a curtain radius of the school building independent of any internet connection. It would explain how Junko could keep making these files as well as adding new rules.

In less than a minute, I had the Monokuma reports made and sent out to them with a small text telling them what they were for. It wasn't as impressive as Junko's practically finishing in seconds like in the game, but it was still something I could take pride in. Then again, she could have just made the reports in advance and sent them off after the announcements. That's a possibility.

Regardless, now that the files were finished and sent, I decided to tune back in to the chaos that I knew would be awaiting me back in the gymnasium. As expected, the moment I had left the control room I could hear panicked denials coming from the television in the center of the room.

"Y-You've got it all wrong!" came the panicking shout of the unfortunate luckster as the others seemed to back away from him with suspicion. "It wasn't me! I just swapped rooms with her and…"

I had to grimace a bit as I knew the cause for this sudden hostility the others were displaying was because of my Monokuma file for Sayaka. As I said, one of the things that could be imputed was the location that the injury was sustained, both on the body, but also the place and time it was received. Junko only used them because she mostly needed them to understand those things to keep the situation fair. She wanted them to fail, yes, but she always gave them a sporting chance to succeed anyway. It was one of the few things I could respect about her.

Unfortunately for Makoto, I couldn't afford to let that info slide by, so as to prevent any mistakes on their investigations, they needed to know that bit. Now that they had that, they could localize their searches.

It was time for the best part. "Let the investigation start."

* * *

Today was quickly becoming the worst day that Makoto could remember, just barely surpassing when this whole mutual killing game had started. Barely an hour into the day and he had found that his childhood friend and one of his classmates had been attacked in the dead of night, leaving both of them in critical condition and near deaths door. Then, during the morning announcement, another of his friends snapped and tried to take on their captor, resulting in her being in just as close to death as the other two had been. But at the pinnacle of this utter disaster of a day was when said abductor revealed that Maizono, his friend whom he swore an oath to protect, had been stabbed in his room, resulting in everyone believing that _he_ had been the one to stab her.

And it wasn't even noon yet.

Now here he was, standing outside of his own room were his close friend had been attacked, trying to psych himself up to begin the investigation to prove his own innocence in this endeavor. To open the door and see where she had been brutally harmed and the mess that had been the results of her struggles again.

He didn't want to open the door at all. He didn't have any desire to see this horrible sight once more, just the thought caused his stomach to churn and his palms to become moist. Unfortunately, he knew he needed to do this. He needed to be the one to clear his own name and find the one responsible for this travesty. It was the only way he could be sure that both Maizono's and Hagakure's attacker would be brought to justice.

Not for his sake, but for everyone.

With this resolve in his heart, he strode forth, idly wondering why someone would swap his name plate with Maizono's, he continued into his bed room.

"Huh? Owada?" Immediately upon entering, he was caught off guard by the sight of the pompadour biker standing near the door way. He hadn't seen the gang leader on his way here, so Makoto had assumed that he had gone elsewhere.

"Yo, Makoto. Sup?" Mondo said when he noticed the smaller boy in the doorway, a single hand of his waving slightly in greeting.

"What are you doing here?" Inquired the Luckster, legitimately confused as to why the burly teen would be here investigating the scene of a crime. It wasn't that Makoto thought ill of Mondo, far from it. But, he just couldn't see the biker investigating.

Thankfully, Mondo was more than forthcoming with information. "Yeah, me and Sakura got drafted to oversee the crime scenes. Make sure no one messes with the joint, ya know?. See, that chick told us we'd be in some real deep shit if someone went and trashed any evidence, so the two of us were told to stand watch. I hate racking my brain anyway, so it's fine by me."

'Chick?' wondered Makoto silently before glancing around the corner that the gang leader thumbed to. To his surprise, there stood Kiyoko examining the door to his bathroom with an unreadable expression.

"Kirigiri!" he explained in shock, not having expected her to be there. Last he'd seen her was when she was examining the infirmary. She barely reacted to his exclamation aside from moving her eyes towards him briefly and giving him a very slight nod of acknowledgement before returning to the door.

"Have you just begun your investigation?" she asked, straight to the point as usual. With a confirmation from the luckster, she gave another small nod. "I see. I'm already finishing up here."

'She's good.' Makoto thought to himself, impressed at how quickly she was. It hadn't even been ten minutes since they'd all left the infirmary and she had everything nearly wrapped up already. But it raised some questions in his mind about her.

'I wonder what her story is.' He thought, his eyes glued to the side of her face as she worked her hand up and down the door frame for whatever reason he couldn't think of now. The mystery surrounding this woman had been the topic that he'd been wondering about since the first day, and no matter what he or anyone else had said and done, the enigma that was Kiyoko Kirigiri continued to remain unsolved. 'I still don't even what field of "ultimate" she is.'

He might have continued this train of thought further, but he suddenly became very aware of Mondo giving him a very disturbing glare while popping his knuckles repeatedly with an audible "Crick" sound. "Oh, by the way. Don't get any ideas about tampering with the crime scene. I'll crush the life out of ya if you're planning to pull any funny business. You feel me?"

"I-I got it!" Makoto nervously confirmed, his hands held up in a placating manner to show the much stronger teen that he fully understood. With that out of the way, he turned his attention back to the room.

As it was before when he first arrived, it was still very trashed. It didn't appear to have changed any from what he could see, but that didn't mean much since the last time he'd been in here he'd been to horrified to absorb the details properly. Now that he'd calmed down, he could examine the crime scene thoroughly to piece together what had happened.

Immediately, his eyes were drawn to an item laying near the center of the room; specifically, the gold colored katana that he knew was supposed to be on display on his shelf. Just like the room, there was noticeable damage on it, the sheath itself having sustained a large gouge on one side. Strangely, the blade had been drawn and there were large flakes of the delicate paint missing from both the dull bladed edge and the handle, revealing the wood underneath.

'What is this doing out?' Makoto wondered as he looked at the replica sword puzzled. 'and why does the sheath have a large cut in its side? It's like someone tried to carve into it.'

He would have continued had he not heard a loud sound emit from his electronic handbook. Confused, he whipped out his handbook to see what had caused that noise. He was rather surprised when he saw a picture of the very katana he'd just been examining appear on the screen. There was also a small section right next to the picture

"Oh, right, already forgot about that." Turning his attention to the speaker, Makoto bore witness to Mondo scratching at his cheek with an annoyed expression on his face. "Yeah, apparently Monokuma doesn't trust us not to waste time with worthless info, so he's got some kind of "evidence folder" for when we investigate shit. Said something about having most of the important stuff photographed and that he'll send us each a picture of what it is when we find something of use."

"Oh, well, that's convenient." Said Makoto mildly, a rather unorthodox way of helping he'd admit. Appreciated since that meant he wouldn't have to try and guess what was important and what wasn't, but it was still something that felt a bit weird.

The biker then stepped closer and pointed at the word box next to the picture of the sword. "He also said something about keeping your own notes on everything you find on your own. We can even write down testimonies if someone says anything important. Only real problem I have is that he's gonna be stalking us with those damn cameras to see when we find anything. Fucking creeper."

That was… much less reassuring. Now he was going to be constantly worried about the bear popping up where he wasn't wanted. Still, there wasn't anything he could do about it, so he decided to suck it up and push on.

After jotting down a quick note on the replica sword and looked around a bit more before he spotted Kyoko opening the drawer one the other side of his ruined bed. A casual glance inside turned into a shock as he saw a plastic box full of tools. It was only a few basic things, a basic hammer, a pair of screwdrivers both Philips head and flat blade, some wire cutters, and a few other tools he couldn't name.

"Eh? Why is there a tool kit in my drawer?" Makoto questioned as he looked closer at it. Had that been in there the whole time?

"Yeah, you aren't the only one, all the guys got one in their rooms too. The girls all got sewing kits." Answered Mondo.

"What for? Shop class?" The luckster continued asking. It didn't make much sense to him why they would be given such a thing.

"The guys and I were talking about it when you took your… Ahem, 'nap' the first day." The biker said while a small embarrassed blush developed on his face, which was mirrored by Makoto as he recalled what his friend was referring to. "None of us were really up to making anything anyway, so as far as I know, we haven't used our kits either."

Makoto could understand that. With all that was going on, they wouldn't have had any motivation to work on anything with their own tools at all. Then again, what could they even work on with…

'I'm just going to stop that train of thought right there.'

Moving on from that, he took a brief glance under his bed and found something poking out. Curious, he pulled it out only to find that it was his lint roller. He had been wondering what had happened to it since it had disappeared the other day. However, there was a noticeable difference to it since he'd last seen it.

"Why does it look like there's a lot less of it now?" On closer inspection, he saw he was right. The sticky roll of paper was quite a bit smaller than it had been when he first saw it a week ago. He knew that he hadn't used it at all, so the question was, who did, and why?

"It would appear that someone has already destroyed some evidence." Stated Kiyoko as she looked over Makoto's shoulder, startling the poor boy a bit in the process. "I thought that it was strange that there didn't seem to be any hair anywhere. Now I see why."

"Shit, really?" Mondo's exasperated question came from his spot in the entryway. "Damnit. It's probably already been burned in the trash room by now."

Makoto nodded along with understanding. It would seem he would need to be making a stop by the trash room at some point as well as the other places he needed to check.

"…Say, do you know what is with this door?" Turning to look at the door in question, and the purple themed girl who asked said question, Makoto responded with, "Oh, that. I have the only bathroom door that gets jammed, but it's really easy to open when you know the trick."

"I see..." She said slowly as if analyzing his words with extreme precision. "So the door doesn't open easily. However, I was referring to the stain."

'Stain?' he wondered before stepping closer. Sure, enough, blending into the wood was a new splatter decorating the door with a small trail dripping down to the floor. But, what was more concerning was what the stain was made of.

"I-Is that _blood_!?" asked a panicked Makoto as he looked at the marking. Why hadn't he seen this earlier!?

"It would seem so." Stated Kyoko with what the luckster thought was far too much monotone for such a chilling discovery.

"But why is there blood here!?"

"…Why indeed." Kyoko said as her hand lightly pressed her hand to her chin, her eyes closing briefly as she thought, though over what, Makoto could only guess. "Makoto, did you tell anyone about your finicky door?"

"Huh?" he turned back to her, not quite understanding what had brought that on. "No, I haven't. It actually slipped my mind until recently."

To his surprise, a small grin broke out on her face. "I see. That settles it then."

Huh? "Settles what? I'm totally lost here."

His question went unanswered as she turned and began to walk towards the door, leaving both him and the biker behind in the bedroom. With Mondo focusing on maintaining vigil over the crime scene, Makoto was practically alone now to think over what he'd discovered. However, he didn't know what to think.

Why had someone attacked Maizono in his room? How did they get into the room in the first place? Why was there blood on his door? There was so much still left unanswered, but he couldn't find those answers here. With a brief farewell to Mondo, he followed the mysterious woman in the hopes of finding his answers.

To find the truth, he needed to continue forward!

* * *

"God damn it! I don't have a clue what I'm doing!"

Slamming his forehead into the wall next to him, Leon groaned as he tried to gather his thoughts again. It hadn't been long since they had all left the infirmary were Junko, Maizono and Hiro were recovering from their own individual stab wounds. Hiro himself had offered to act as a sort of alarm just in case something were to happen while the others did their investigations. Though it was met with some reluctance seeing as it was, you know, _Hagakure_ doing it, the others had to admit that it would allow them to cover more investigative ground if less people were guarding them when they could be gathering clues.

The only problem was, barely any of them knew what to look for!

Seriously, it was like no one had seen an investigation in their life. Barring Mondo and Sakura who at least had guard duty, everyone was pretty much just standing around, barely even looking at anything besides some curiosity glances. Hell, when he last saw Asahina she told him she was taking a break, even though they'd only just started half an hour ago!

The only exceptions he'd seen so far were Byakuya, Kiyoko, Makoto, and to a lesser extent, himself. They had found Byakuya outside of the laundry room examining the door frame for some reason and had brought him up to speed on what Monokuma was doing, as well as informing him about the trial that they'd agreed on. Of course, Byakuya, being the utter dick that he was, basically gave them an, "I told you so" in that condescending way of his, then buggered off to do his own investigations.

Both Makoto and Kiyoko had then gone to look at the bedroom where it all went down, so he decided that he would just have to meet them half way and investigate the laundry room where Hiro got shanked. The problem there was that, he didn't even know where to begin.

No, that wasn't it. He did know something about where to begin, it was more that he didn't know what he could investigate that wouldn't incriminate himself in the process. Already his blasted handbook had rung, like, seven times so far, telling him any anyone that was near enough to him that he'd found clue. But each time it had happened he felt like ripping out the blasted bear's fur because he didn't want anyone to know about the clues he kept stumbling across.

Begrudgingly pulling out his handbook, he looked at the list of evidence he'd gotten so far. Already he'd gotten the bloody frame from where Hiro had his head busted open by Maizono, the dried puddle where he and Junko had tried to mop up the two injured student's blood with what had been left of his jacket, glass shards that he accidentally stepped on that were from Hiro's so-called "crystal ball", a white button from someone's outfit that he figured might be either his or Hiro's, the drippings from when they'd dragged them to the infirmary, the Monokuma files that everyone got, and of course, Junko's still dirty hoodie from when he accidentally bumped into the washer and caused the door to pop open.

Now he had a whole bunch of evidence to use in the trial, evidence that he and anyone that had been close enough to hear him finding it could use, and none of it he wanted to use. Not if he wanted to keep his promise.

It was when he felt a hand softly pat him on the back reassuringly that he was reminded of the other problem he had on his hands. Turning to his right he could see the soft delicate gaze of who he thought to be the second cutest girl in this place looking him in the eyes and making him feel a heat rise in his face. Her soft hand pressed into his shoulder blade almost tenderly as she said in that delicate voice that had won over the hearts of dozens of guys and some girls nationwide, "It'll be okay, Leon. I don't know much about investigating either, so I don't know if we're contributing much. But, I just know we'll find who did this!"

'Damnit Fujisaki,' he thought to himself as he forced a reassuring grin onto his face to placate the programmer that had practically glued herself to his side for pretty much the entire investigation. 'Why do you have to be so cute!? It's not fair!'

Sometimes he hated how easy it was for girls to convince him to do things he didn't want to do. First it was his mother getting him to start baseball, then it was his crazy cousin getting him to go pro before her sick obsession with dating him started to grow, then it was that one hot chick that said she only dated musicians, then it was Maizono before she tried to kill him, and now it was Fujisaki getting him to help investigate a crime he'd already known the answer to the entire time. It was quite frankly, getting old.

"Yeah, your right." He said with a grin to get the girl off his back. Thankfully, it seemed to work as she gave him a small smile and she moved away to another part of the laundry room. With that time bomb momentarily avoided, he gave an explosive sigh. 'Since when was Chihiro so supportive?'

Seriously, it was like a switch had been flipped in the little girl's brain that kept her from being the meek wallflower she'd been since the first day. In fact, this had been the most he had talked to her in the entirety of their time trapped in this place. Not because either of them had outright tried to avoid each other or anything like that. It was because of them all focusing on escape more so then trying to interact with each other. So, to see the shy girl approach him and offer to assist, it still through the all-star for a loop.

Looking at her as she kneeled next to the table for folding laundry, he decided now would be a good time to ask. "Hey, Chihiro?"

*Thunk* "Ow!"

Unfortunately, his sudden call had startled the soft-spoken programmer, and caused her to jump and bang her head on the bottom of the table. Shocked at what he'd done, Leon quickly rushed over to assist the poor girl clutching her head with tears prickling at the edges of her eyes.

"Oh, geez. Sorry about that." Leon said, feeling guilty for causing her any sort of pain. She was like a porcelain doll; you almost couldn't help but want to protect it and you would feel bad whenever you failed to do so.

"I-I'm okay." Said Chihiro as she pressed lightly at the small bump she had received, hissing lightly when she tapped a particularly sensitive spot. Thankfully it wasn't too bad and it would most likely be forgotten by the end of the hour. With that confirmation in mind, the meek computer whiz turned to address the worried all-star without any hard feelings for what had happened.

"What were you saying?" she asked Leon, no longer concerned with her minor bump on the head. It took the red headed teen a moment to recall what exactly it was that he had wanted to ask, but eventually it did kind of click.

"Oh, right! So, why are you following me around?" Immediately, the wannabe punk rocker regretted his phrasing as Chihiro's hurt expression caused his heart to clench. Waving his hands in panic, he quickly tried to play damage control. "I-It's not that I don't appreciate the help. I do! It's just, I just don't get why you would be hanging out with someone like me. I would have thought you'd be hanging around someone like, I don't know, Hina and Sakura or one of the girls."

As the pained expression faded to one of understanding then one to deep thought, Leon gave a soft sigh of relief. It wasn't something he held against her, but he didn't like to see her cry. Girls in general he didn't like to see break down sobbing, but it was even worst when the girl was crying because of him. He never knew how to get them to stop afterwards and it would always leave him feeling miserable afterwards.

Thankfully, it seemed that there wouldn't be any of those shed today, so he could relax a bit and wait for the reply from his classmate.

"Well," She started, "I guess it's because I feel safe around you." Well, while that was flattering, it didn't answer his question; something he made sure to express with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean," she said with a blush that did nothing to stop making her seem adorable. "It isn't that I don't like hanging out with the others, all of the girls are really nice and all, but I just feel more confident around the guys. And out of all of them, you seem to know what to look for; even if you don't believe it."

Well that was a bit of a confidence booster, but before he could comment on it, she continued. "I mean, you've been finding these clues that all of us have been missing, and so quickly too! I don't mean to say the others aren't doing their best, but you've been so helpful so far with all of these cool things none of us could do. Like with Junko! You're amazing."

Just like that, the little boost was gone, replaced with a feeling of guilt at being praised for something he'd only known about second hand. Worst still, it was information that he only had because he'd been too trusting of Sayaka and he'd nearly gotten killed because of it. If it hadn't been for Junko…

Shaking himself free of those depressing thoughts again, he looked at the chick that had been making him relive last night and was about to try and tell to tell her otherwise when he noticed they had company. Thanking whatever deity that was watching over him for giving him a chance to escape this awkwardness, he waved the boy over with a call of, "Yo! Makoto!"

Said luckster turned at the call of his voice and walked over to greet the two classmates. "Hi Leon, Chihiro. Are you guys investigating too?"

"You know it." Leon replied, happy that he didn't have to continue the previous conversation. "Chihiro and I figured something might have been in here that Hiro forgot about that could give us a clue."

The petite programmer nodded in agreement before adding, "Yeah, we've found a lot of clues so far already."

"That's great!" stated Makoto as his eyes practically lit up. "What'd you find?"

That was when the luckster grew a bit confused, because right as he said that, both of his friends cringed and turned away from him. "What's wrong?"

" _Yeah_ , about that." The all-star said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "We can't actually _tell_ you what we found."

"What? Why not?" responded Makoto, a bit hurt that his friends would try and keep this all secret from him. What reason could they have to hid evidence from him when they were all after the same goal?

Thankfully, Chihiro had an answer. "I-It's not that we don't want to tell you. It's just that, Monokuma forbade us from it."

Leon jumped in to elaborate when he saw how little that had explained it. "Look, Monokuma said that, unless we have an emergency of some sort, we're not allowed to show each other what we've got in our evidence folders during investigations. He said it was to keep us from, "tampering with each other's results" and to "prevent making him have to remember who had what beforehand". I think it was just an excuse for him to fuck with us."

Nodding at what Leon said, the programmer continued sadly, "He also said that the only exception to that was if you're in the same room as someone else when you or they find something. We tried to help Sakura by filling out hers for her earlier so that she wouldn't be too lost, but that was when Monokuma interrupted. We can show you where we found things, but we just can't show what we found. I'm sorry I couldn't be more useful."

'Shit, not again.' Instantly, Leon cringed at the sight of tears once more poking at the edges of her eyes. Thankfully, Makoto came to his rescue.

"That's not true!" Makoto said passionately. "If anything, I'm glad that you're doing your best to help out!"

With teary eyes, Chihiro looked at the luckster, unsure of the slightly taller teens sincerity. "R-Really?"

Taking the opportunity, Leon interjected with, "Totally! It's like Taka keeps saying, we've just got to keep working together, and we'll be out of here in no time! Right, Makoto!"

Though slightly taken aback at being interrupted, the luckster smiled along and nodded in confirmation. "Yeah! And it's not like you can't help at all. You said it yourself, even if you can't exactly show me what the clue is, you can still point me in the right direction so that I can find it myself!"

"Then we won't break any rules that way! Thank you, guys!" The sight of the small mousy girl breaking out a wide, closed eyed, smile that caused the two to grin as well.

"No problem, Chihiro." Leon said, giving her a thumbs-up. "Now, let's find ourselves some clues!"

"Right!" Responded the other two before they began their search. It was only now that Leon thought about what he had just said, causing him to stop in his tracks.

'Damnit, it happened again.' Once again, he'd let some pretty face distract him from his plans and now he had to look to avoid suspicion being placed onto him. Worst still, now Makoto was involved too, so he had even less reason to fool around.

'Then again…' he thought as he watched the boy investigate the washer where Hiro's clothes were. 'Maybe that's a good thing. I mean, it's not like helping him clear his own name will be that bad for me in the long run…Right?'

He was interrupted from his musings when Makoto pulled a bloody blue hoodie out of the washing machine.

Leon only had one thought in response.

'…Shit.'

* * *

"Okay, I think I've got it. Thanks, guys!"

After waving good bye to the two classmates in the laundry room and briefly thanking Sakura for letting him into the room in the first place, Makoto made his way towards the cafeteria to look for clues there. The reason was rather simple; it was the only place he could recall any form of knife being present. He thought it would be best if he could confirm whether the one used on Hiro and Sayaka came from there.

As he walked, he couldn't help but think on what he'd found already thanks to the others help. After investigating his room, he had followed what Mondo had said and gone to check out the trash room. Sure, enough, with a little help from Hifumi who was on trash detail this week, he could find out that someone had indeed used the incinerator to destroy something, yet somehow without opening the gate blocking access. Though the Otaku had been distracted with trying to find the "fairy" that he swore must have been responsible, Makoto had his own suspicions regarding the shards of glass he found on the floor by the control box.

Once that had been finished, he went to find out what had gone down with Hiro. Thanks to the report, he could easily find where the fortune teller had been attacked. With permission from Sakura, he checked out the laundry room entry way and found a stain on one of the door frames that was located high enough to confirm it was where the clairvoyant had bumped his head. There were also signs of someone using something to soak up the blood pool from Yasuhiro's stab wound, mostly just some easily missed splotches in the crevices.

That had been all he could find outside before he went in and found Chihiro and Leon doing their own investigations. While he wasn't happy about Monokuma's stupid rules preventing them from helping him find clues, he was still glad for the impute they gave him on the items he could find.

Now, he needed to find out if his thoughts about where the knife had been found were true, and to do that, he needed to check the kitchen.

To his surprise, as he entered the cafeteria he found Asahina sitting and one of the tables, munching sadly on a box of donuts. She took notice of him and nodded as he entered, but stayed uncharacteristically silent. Worried about this, Makoto stepped up to her.

"Asahina. Are you investigating the dining hall?" he started with, not wanting to risk upsetting her with stupid questions right out of the gate.

"Nope." She said, popping her lips at the end. "Just taking a break. Actually, I've been doing that the whole time. I don't know anything about investigating."

'I can believe that.' Thought the luckster as he nodded in understanding. It made sense after all. From what little he'd learned about her; he could tell this wasn't something she'd be good at since it required a lot of staying still and thinking then action.

Deciding to get straight to the point, Makoto asked her, "…Do you know anything about the knives in the kitchen?"

"Sure do!" She replied earnestly, "One of them went missing recently. They were all together last night when I went to make myself some tea, but when I went to clean up one of them had disappeared."

"Were you here the whole time?" the luckster asked, pieces of the puzzle starting to be put together within his mind.

"Yep. I was here all yesterday evening until nighttime was called and today. I'm not sure why, but I really find this place relaxing." She giggled at that bit, finding it a bit humorous that this would be the place she enjoyed being the most considering her talent as an athletic swimmer. It was even more funny to her since she knew people would have assumed that someone more like Hifumi would be hanging around this place considering his stature.

Surprisingly, the opposite was true. Hifumi rarely stayed in the diner hall unless he got into a conversation with someone beforehand. Of course, the others would mostly do the same, those like Byakuya and Toko especially stayed away from the group whenever possible. It was just the fan content creator not staying where the food was that Hina found a bit funny.

Unaware of her thoughts, Makoto was noting this down in his handbook as "Hina's account" for future reference. Now that he knew where the knife came from, he could try and find out more who had taken it in the first place. After that, he could try and find out where it went.

Thanking Hina for her help, Makoto left the cafeteria and began making his way to the infirmary. He had a few questions he still needed answered and the one that he knew could be answered best was by the Ultimate clairvoyant himself.

* * *

"Man, this sucks."

Yasuhiro sighed to himself as he sat on the stiff hospital bed, looking around at the bland room once again. He'd already gotten bored counting the spots in the ceiling tiles and with the other two residence of the room unconscious and the others investigating, he had no one to speak to.

He knew that he had no choice in the matter. Not only was he wounded, which would severely hamper his ability to search, but they needed someone to stay and watch in case something where to happen to Junko and Sayaka. Not just if someone decided to finish the job, but also in case one or both happened to wake up at some point.

With his injured state, the others felt confident that he would be unable to try anything to the two girls in the off chance that he was the attempted murderer, and yet he _would_ be able to alert the others should someone else try anything. He didn't know how to feel about being essentially a living alarm system, but at the least he knew he was helping.

Now, if only he had someone to talk to again.

"Hey, Hiro. You got a second?" As if his prayers were being answered, the fortune teller heard the door open as his good buddy Makoto walked in to the room. Smiling a bit at the luckster, Yasuhiro retuned the greeting.

"Yo, Makoto. Perfect timing. I was wondering if everyone forgot about me for a moment there. You need something?" At his question, Makoto stepped towards him and held up his student E-handbook and showed the seer the picture on it.

"Does this mean anything to you?" Looking at the picture, Hiro saw what looked like a pile of glass shards next to a pole of some sort. At first, it didn't make sense to him why Makoto was showing him this, but when he looked a bit closer at one of the larger shards that still held most of its round shape, his eyes widened in shock.

"That's my crystal ball! Aw man, what happened to it!?" Indeed, there was no doubt about it. Those shattered little bits were what was once his crystal ball. And this after looking for it all night and getting stabbed "Geez, talk about rotten luck."

"So, it is yours." Makoto more stated then asked as he pulled his handbook back, a bit glad that he was on the right track. Hiro nodded back sadly, upset to have lost one of his tools of his trade.

"Yeah, that's it alright. Or it _was_ it anyway. Man, and after all that talk about how it was 'unbreakable orb held by the biggest powerheads of the world like Gorge Washington, All Capone, and Napoleon Bonaparte'. All of it was seriously BS?" He groaned to himself at that. In all honesty, saying it out loud, it was rather unbelievable. He didn't even remember why he even fell for it in the first place. Maybe it was the man's accent.

"…I'm probably going to regret asking, but how much did you pay for it?" Wincing at the memory, Hiro looked up at the luckster and cringed.

"…one hundred million yen." He didn't know which was worst, the newly learned knowledge of losing that much money for a fake crystal ball, or the look of completely dumbfounded disbelief on Makoto's face. "Yeah, that took two whole years' worth of fortune telling. To be fair, it would have been chump change if it actually did give me the power to control the world."

Apparently, that was the end of their conversation because the luckster turned on his heel and walked over to the resting Pop Sensation. 'Yeah, even I realize how dumb that was… now. Honestly, I should have figured that out when he said they were part of a set.'

"…There's gold on her wrist." The statement caught Hiro by surprise and effortlessly derailed his train of thought. Looking over at the luckster, Hiro saw him holding up her right hand slightly. As the luckster had said, on the swollen part of her arm where her wrist had been broken there were a few flakes of gold paint on it.

"Oh, so that's what she was looking at." Hiro stated with realization in his tone. He had been wondering why she had been paying so much attention to the idol's arm when she'd come to investigate, but he had been unable to say anything to her because she just seemed so unapproachable to him.

"She?" Asked Makoto, uncertain of who he was referring to. There were a lot of girls here after all.

"Yeah, Kiyoko came in here a while ago, but she didn't stay long. Just enough to change Sayaka's and my bandages. Now that you mention it, I think she left her wrist exposed because she found that gold stuff you were talking about. Maybe she wanted to make sure the others could find it themselves."

It wasn't the best theory he had about what she'd been doing, but it was the most logical one he could come up with now. Aside from aliens abducting her and either replacing her with one of their own or brainwashing her. But that wouldn't be to believable to the others, and with his light headedness from all the blood loss, they would likely write it off without a thought.

Maybe later then.

That was when Makoto spoke up again, a bit of confusion in his voice, "Hey, what's that on your jacket?"

"Huh?" Hiro responded oh so intelligently as he began looking for whatever it was that the luckster was talking about. He didn't have to look long before Makoto decided to elaborate.

"Right there, on your shoulder. There's some kind of stain." Now armed with a better idea of what he should be looking for, the clairvoyant turned to look at where the Makoto was pointing. Yasuhiro then cried out in shock at the sight of the new addition of golden handprints all over the collar and shoulders.

"W-What the hell?" Stated the clairvoyant as he looked at the prints littering the top of his favorite jacket, completely shocked by the sight of the golden stains. "When did those get there!?"

"You didn't know about that before?" Inquired Makoto, somewhat shocked that Hiro hadn't noticed them before now. With how deeply the brightly colored gold hand prints contrasted against the dark brown of the jacket, it really should have been one of the first things the clairvoyant noticed.

But apparently, Hiro was as dense as he acted, because he followed up with, "No way, I didn't even think to look. I mean, I just washed this thing yesterday, I would have known if someone had touched it."

'I mean really, why on earth would anyone do this?' Hiro knew that he wasn't the most liked person in the world, but that didn't mean that he deserved this kind of thing. Was this supposed to be some kind of prank or something, because he wasn't laughing.

"Hey, do you think they'll be okay?" Makoto's question pulled him out of his thoughts and he ended up looking at one of the most miserable expressions he'd ever had the misfortune to witness in recent years. Seriously, he'd seen starving puppies that didn't look as depressingly desperate as this guy did right now.

And the worst part was that just looking at the boy's eyes. Hiro would be the first person to freely admit that he was, often, blind to a person's feelings. It was just something he had trouble picking up on at a glance. However, this look that he saw right now was so apparent that he knew he'd have to be a complete mental patient to miss this hopelessly worried face.

It felt inherently wrong, somehow. Like such an expression should never exist in those eyes. It almost felt like his chest was squeezing his heart just from the sight of it. It almost… _hurt_ just seeing that look in this boy's eyes.

Why was that? What was it about seeing Makoto looking so miserable that was causing this reaction? He'd barely known the kid for over a week so why was…

" _Don't worry Hiro. I'm not mad. A little upset, but not too mad. We've all make mistakes these past couple years, but we'll fix it. Together."_

A sudden spike of pain lanced through his skull as the world momentarily seemed to switch out with another. For a second there, the Makoto that wore that depressing look had been over layered with another, slightly younger looking one that had a tired, yet completely hopeful look that caused him to suddenly feel… determined.

Determined to help someone other than himself. To give them something to believe in. To give someone a reason to be hopeful again.

It was a strange thing to be honest. These feelings coming out of nowhere from what he could only guess was a flashback of some kind. If it wasn't then that whole, 'brain washing through radio waves' conspiracy might be more plausible then he'd first thought. It could have been a vision of the future that he occasionally had, but it wasn't likely since that Makoto looked a bit younger than this one.

"Hiro?" it took him a second, but he remembered that the lucky student was waiting for an answer. Deciding to put that thought aside for later, Hiro took a quick look at the two girls to stall for time. Truthfully, he had no idea if either of them would make it.

Now, he was the furthest thing from a doctor that he could think of, that much was fact. With that in mind, he still didn't think either of them had much of a chance at living though this. Both girls had apparently lost a lot of blood, and even with the blood packs fixing that, it would be touch and go for a while.

When he had finally noticed the two of them after Monokuma's deal had been made, he had thought the worst had happened. Thankfully, the others had straightened it out for him that they were both alive; if in critical condition.

Unfortunately, neither one was in any condition to continue this killing game and either one of them could die at any moment; by their injuries or by other party was up to chance for the moment. It was not looking good for them right about now.

Still, he slapped on his best optimistic grin for his friend and said, "No worries man. Their gonna be fine. I'm sure of it. You just focus on the investigation; I'll keep them safe."

It wasn't much of a lie. He was going to be stuck here anyways, so he might as well say it. Sure, he knew that if anyone tried something he wouldn't be able to stop them, but it made Makoto cheer up a bit anyway, so he counted that as a win.

With words of thanks, the luckster decided to move on to the last clue he needed and left the grinning clairvoyant behind with the comatose fashionista and pop idol. There was just one more stop he had to make, but Yasuhiro didn't know that. All he knew was that, he had a job to do right now.

* * *

"Alright, just about time now."

I muttered to myself as I watched Makoto head into the audio video room with Sayaka's DVD in his hand, knowing that he would be playing it soon in an attempt to get a better understanding of his friend's actions yesterday. A valiant effort, I must say. I only wonder if I would have done the same thing in his shoes.

With much of the clues gathered by those of the class that could do any sleuthing on their own, and Makoto just about to finish his list himself, I leaned back in my chair as I thought about the choices I had made regarding the investigation process.

Most of them had been something I'd had come up with on the spot to explain their appearance in the games. For starters, there was the "truth bullets", the evidence gathered during the investigation to be used in the trial. A thing I noticed after tinkering around with the E-handbook, was that, for all its sophisticated technology and space age design, it didn't have any camera systems to take pictures. This meant that, unless they had gotten a picture from me/Junko, there wouldn't be any way for them to properly record their own findings.

Of course, that was unless they were to use the notepads they'd all been giving; but that wouldn't work since Makoto's notepad provided an important clue that proves his innocence. That piece of intel would never had been found if he was lugging that around with him the whole time, so I provided an alternative. Using still images from the cameras and a few pictures I'd found in the school's database, I was more than able to facilitate some photos for them.

The note feature was something they'd already had installed into the tablet, so all I had to do was send them the picture attached to an empty note, then they could modify it as they saw fit. Yeah, I could have filled out the notes myself, but then I'd be to tempted to include spoilers that would have made them suspicious in the long run. It was honestly the best thing I could do for them, just let them figure out the items significance themselves so that they would have reason to think it through.

That, and I was lazy.

To be fair, I had already had to endure the nonsense of last night. I was already exhausted; I didn't want to do much more if I didn't have to.

That being said, the second part had been brought to my attention was the fact that, in the manga and anime adaptation most of the smaller evidence would be picked up by someone and it usually wouldn't be seen again till the trial. This was something that happened in game too, but it was far more prominent in the adaptation and it meant that a lot of them wouldn't be able to piece the info together themselves until that moment it became relevant.

Now, I knew why it had to be done this way. This process would let the others have their moments to shine, while also causing the time for the trial to lengthen for longer gameplay. Unfortunately, this also caused trials that could have been solved in ten to twenty minutes to drag on into two to four hours. Yes, this meant they would be thorough in their discussions to find the culprit, but the long run time would occasionally cause me to lapse in attention from time to time and forget important details. Never for long, but long enough.

Now though, with nearly everyone able to find the same evidence, theoretically it would mean that these trials would move a bit faster.

That, and the fact that the others wouldn't be doing that whole, 'forcing the protagonist to figure out everything with passive-aggressive BS questions'. That'll help.

Still, I had to make it somewhat difficult for them in some way, otherwise there would be no tension, no drive to their own search for answers. That was why I'd told them they couldn't just _give_ each other the clues they'd found. Yes, it made more work for me to do to pay attention to who found what, but it also encouraged them to work together to find clues, as well as separate individuals. Working together would let them find clues faster, and occasionally separating would let them have a chance to piece the facts together themselves.

Now, obviously, there were some hick-ups in this plan. Some of the students were unable or unwilling to investigate some things themselves. Toko especially since she couldn't risk passing out from the sight of blood and summoning her inner-serial killer by mistake. Then there were those that would be guarding the scene of the attack, and the ones in the doctor's office would be just as clueless as her. This meant that the others would have to pick up the slack for them and fill them in along the way.

That also meant that, those that preferred to be on their own and gather their own clues like Kiyoko and Byakuya would have the sole advantage that they wouldn't have to tell anyone of their findings unless someone just happened to be in the room with them at the time. Like when she was in Makoto's room and he and Mondo both received the same clues she found by the sole benefit that they were in the same room.

It would be a bit mean of me to forget those people, but it was for the best. They needed to figure this all out on their own that the best way to solve these cases would be to work together. I could only push them as best that I could, but it would be up to them to figure it out for themselves. Sure, I could enforce a rule that they needed to work together, but that would only drive a wedge in-between them. Most of the best teams I've seen in times of adversity were from those that chose to work together instead of being forced to.

Moving on, one thing that I did find strange was how…unobservant most of them seemed to be. It was strange, I had thought that more of them wouldn't follow along with the actions of the in-game counterparts and would do more to help their case. Yet, it seemed that, while they certainly had been more active in the investigation, it still looked like only Makoto was the one searching everything. Kiyoko and Byakuya pulled a lot of weight here and there with their own inspections, but it looked like our resident Luckster was pulling the lion share of it.

I wondered why that was. Kiyoko, I could understand since, despite her amnesia she was still the "Ultimate Detective" and could figure out most of it with minimal assistance, so some of her clues could be simply because I didn't know she was finding them just yet and I would see the results more so in her results then her actions. Plus, I knew that she would be making Makoto figure this out to prove himself innocent. I could see her reasoning too.

If she explained everything right off the bat, it would put the spot light on her in seconds and would raise all kinds of red flags with the others. It would also cause the others to be wary of her if she alone destroyed every question lobbed her way without even the slightest hesitation. Plus, with her memory gone for more thoroughly then the others, she didn't know just yet who she could trust, nor did she know if it was because of the "mastermind" that she lost those memories or not. So, she was laying low as best she could.

Also, by making Makoto be the one to solve this mystery, she was insuring that he would come to terms with what his so-called "friend" did to him. It would hurt him, that much was true, but at least he would be more likely to come to terms with Sayaka's betrayal then if she solved it for him.

Byakuya… I never understood his thought process. He always seemed to take this whole "game" thing a bit too seriously for everyone's tastes. It wasn't too apparent right now, but it would be within a few days. I never learned to trust him like others did. I just didn't like someone like him who could look at a situation like theirs and choose to worsen it because they thought it would be funny. Even as I watched him doing his own investigations, I felt like socking him in the jaw just because of that damnable smirk of his.

As in the game, it was as if he was a nonfactor during the first investigation. He mostly stood in the hallway between the dorms, long having finished his own inspection and just waiting for the trial to begin so that he could have entertainment.

I would have continued to mentally rage had I not heard Makoto start to freak out at what he'd seen in Sayaka's DVD. I couldn't blame him though, the sight of such a popular band laying on the ground either dead or unconscious on stage, all while silhouetted by a massive screen behind them displaying an uncomfortably close shot of Monokuma's face would make anyone shout in shock. The demented bear's words about the group "disbanding" and there being no where for the pop idol to return to didn't help matters.

I couldn't imagine what it must have been like for her to see all her hard work and dreams dead like that. She even admitted to doing some…unsavory things to earn her position, and I only knew of a few of them thanks to a brief glance at her folder. I had to admit, some of them caught me off guard, but still.

"N-No way." Makoto stammered as he stepped back, shocked from what he'd seen and utterly confused as to what could have happened to the girl band. "I-I mean, if this really happened…it'd be a big news story, right…?"

I only wish that would have been the case. Oh, there might have been news at some point, but when the world went to hell, shortly after these kinds of things started popping up all over. It couldn't be that it went unnoticed, but I couldn't find anything about it so far in the school computer. Give it time though, I might.

Either way, it looked like things were winding down for them. All the important clues had been located by at least one or two of the students by this point and it only took a couple of hours. I figured it was about time to call for the trial to begin. If any of them needed anything else, they had each other to rely on.

Hopefully, this would go well.

Playing the school chime, I walked back to the control room and switched to the announcement Monokuma that always popped up with its glass of wine. It wasn't wine. I checked. It was just some kind of chemical to looked like wine. Trust me, I took a wine and spirits class. Besides, wine doesn't tend to smell like glue.

"Ahem. So, I'm getting kind of bored up here. I think it's about time for us to dive right in to the highly anticipated…class trial! Please head to the courtroom through the elevator behind the big red doors in the school zone. See you all in a bit!" I paused for a bit before a thought occurred to me. "…incidentally, all conscious students are _required_ to attend. Those that are unable to walk will be provided either a wheelchair or a crutch to use for the duration of the trial only."

I knew that would piss off more than a few of them, it was basically me saying that it didn't matter if they were on deaths door, they would have to attend if they were conscious, no matter what. No regard for a person's injuries; if you were awake, well to bad, you're going.

Unfortunately, I needed access to the two that were still sleeping and Yasuhiro would just get in the way. So, sadly I had to do just that.

It didn't take long for them to gather up at the elevator. A few minutes at best, the last one being Hiro wheeled in on a wheelchair by a Monokuma wearing a stethoscope and a small doctors coat. I couldn't resist.

"Dun dun-dun dun! Someone page a doctor? It's Doctor Kill brew on the scene." What could I say, I have a sick sense of humor sometimes.

"Just get off!" Yasuhiro said, having tried to take control of the chair the whole way. Sad to say, the 'doctor' had him beat in the strength department. It had to be to singlehandedly lift him off his cot and into the chair without reopening his wounds.

"Here you go then, and remember to drink plenty of water. You lost quite a bit of blood back there, so it's in your best interest to rehydrate as best you can before you possibly get executed, it'd be a _shame_ for you not to be able to leave a big stain for me to clean up." I intentionally ignored his glare as I put a tall glass of purified water in his hand. "And do try not to drop it, I'd just _hate_ to make one of the others clean it all up for you."

I had to suppress my laughter when he sloshed some of the water into the Monokuma's face. I didn't even care that this could technically be count as breaking a rule, it was funny.

"Well, if you're going to be rude about it, you can just forget about me assisting you to the courtroom. I'll meet you at the bottom. Don't keep me waiting~" And with that, Monokuma was gone, and the students, who were all still wary, climbed into the massive elevator. All I had to do now was wait for them in the courtroom. But before that, I had something big to take care of.

And believe me, it would be a doozy.

* * *

 **Hello people of the internet, viewers, fans of Danganronpa and of this little piece of fan fiction here. Firstly, let me just say, thank you all for your patience with me and the long wait times. It's not easy to make time to work on this, so to know that people like it means the world to me. My apologies for the long wait times between chapters. I try to do as much as I can to get them out bi-monthly, but sometimes things pop up that hinder it. That being said, I recently was given the "Danganronpa 1.2 PS4" addition to my collection, so I plan to run through it one or more times to remind myself of some key characters personality traits and make notes of them. Shouldn't take to long, I'm hoping.** **I don't plan to put in these A.N. notes very often, I feel that they break up the flow of the story to much and more often then not they end up skipped over anyway, but I felt the need to put one in this time to say how happy I am that others are enjoying what I write.**

 **I'm also planning on writing some small one shots every so and so, some prompted, some my own. So, watch out for that in the future. Collage graduation is almost here for me, so with luck, I'll have more time to devote to these. Hope to see you all in the** **future!**


	13. Begining the first trial of Despair

"Hey there guys, what kept you?"

I grinned to myself as the students poured out of the elevator one after another and bore witness to where we would be holding the first of what would likely be many class trials. I had to say, it was a rather grand looking place. The floors were tastefully decorated in large black and white tiles somewhat covered with long red carpets with a gold trim leading from the slightly raised, circular platform in the center. The walls were a lovely shade of royal purple and were accentuated with the beautiful ruby curtains the blocked off access to the other areas of the floor. Pillars of golden-brown, polished stone that stood a few feet away from the walls, circling around the room and adding to the appeal. The lighting came from several wall mounted candelabras that had been modified to use powerful lightbulbs instead of candles, as well as a small chandelier that hung way up high.

The real attention grabber though, was at the center of the room. Sixteen half-circle podiums stood facing towards the center on the donut shaped platform, each one made of mahogany wood and polished carefully to a glossy sheen. Each one also had a small panel located on its center that had a series of buttons depicting a chibi styled headshot of each of the students.

Sitting on the corner of each podium was a small plastic cup with two tiny flags on toothpicks. One black, one white. An addition I put in in for later.

The most impressive feature of the room was a massive throne made with the same expensive wood and had a velvet red cushion on the seat and back. On the finely crafted backboard was the schools coat of arms carefully painted on with a dark black paint. It was clearly the work of a master woodcarver. The only major detraction it held was in its occupant, one Monokuma.

It was rather surprising how decorated this whole room was considering what it was originally designed for. This was one of the several dozen secret floors running throughout the lower levels of the school. From what I could find out, the school had been built with these floors for more than just emergency evacuations. There was a maze of catacombs down here where the school could perform a variety of things that would go unnoticed by the world at large. The fact that I couldn't even access any cameras down there besides the main rooms where these courtrooms had been made helped support that.

If it wasn't for the curtains blocking the way, they would see miles of dark hallways. It was fortunate that Junko had covered those, or else their curiosity might have led them to go searching instead of focusing on the trial. That could have ended badly since I had no way to track them down there.

In any case. The students made their way to the podiums and found their places and the stands. Hiro was the only one that needed assistance getting up since he was still in the wheel chair, but thankfully Mondo and Sakura were able to get him up with minimal effort. Once that was taken care of, I took the time to check their positions.

From my right onwards, Aoi stood next to Mondo, then Kyoko, Sakura, then an empty stand reserved for 'Junko' before Kiyotaka. There was one more space left for Sayaka, followed by Makoto across from my spot, then Hifumi, Toko, Leon, Celestia, Byakuya, and finally Yasuhiro before the last empty seat. A near perfect circle of talented individuals apart from me and the two absences, just as planned.

I smiled unseen as they briefly looked at their handbooks, those that weren't looking at their evidence in preparation for what may come were shuffling awkwardly at their stands. It was clear that most of these students had no idea how to hold a trial like this, but I didn't hold it against them. It wasn't something that was standard in a school environment.

Deciding it was time to get started, I had my Monokuma smack the arm of the throne with its small wooden mallet a few times and cleared my throat. "Now then, let's begin with a basic summery of the class trial. So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out, "whodunit" then only they will be at risk of being punished. _However_ , if you pick the _wrong one_ , then I'll punish everyone _besides_ the blackened. Be warned though, you only have until nighttime to figure out who instigated this dreadful crime."

"And the attacker is one of us, right?" asked Makoto, no doubt wanting absolute clarification on the matter.

"Of course!" I stated bluntly. "One of you tried to murder someone else, and as such, you all have to find out the instigator behind it all."

"Just a moment." Interrupted Kiyoko as she turned to face me more clearly. "Before we move on and begin the trial, I have a few questions."

Turning to regard her having expected this, I simply said, "Ask away."

"What's with those pictures?" I knew she was referring to the two portraits of Sayaka and Junko set in golden frames attached to a pole standing in for the very people depicted on them.

"Oh, that. I would have felt just awful if they had to miss out on such an important event, so I set it up so that if anyone is missing for any reason, we'll never have to forget about them." It was a complete lie. The actual reason was because Junko wanted to torment them with the faces of the fallen by mocking their memory with a morbid reminder of things that had taken place. Of course, she usually crossed out their faces with a large X using either paint or blood; considering Junko, it was likely the later.

"Okay, but then, why is there that empty spot. There were only fifteen of us to begin with, so why are there sixteen seats?" Celeste asked next, pointing out the spot in front of me where I would have been stationed. I chuckled at that thought; like I was going to be standing in here anytime soon.

"Well, there's no reason it shouldn't be there. It's just that, this courtroom technically can host up to a maximum of sixteen students, that's all really." I replied readily. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, I got one." Said Leon as he held up one of the tiny flags. "What's with these things?"

"Oh, those will come into play later should you find out the guilty one amongst you. Don't worry about them for now." I continued to grin, I almost couldn't wait for them to win this, that would be when the best change I'd made comes into play.

"One last thing." Kiyoko chimed in once more, this time pointing to a small standing binder that rested on the throne's left armrest that currently depicted a stylized letter A. "What's that letter for?"

"Oh, that old thing?" I said dismissively with a wave of a paw. "That's your class grade. Since this is a school after all, I decided that I would be judging you all on your combined performances during your trials. Think of it like a hint system, if you're all stuck on something and no one can come up with an idea of how to progress, you can all vote to request a hint in exchange for a letter grade. I can't guaranty that you'll like it, and I assure you that it's in your best interest to avoid getting an F, but it's better than nothing."

Ignoring their wary looks, I continued. "Now then, that about does it for the preamble. Get ready to get started! First up is the case summary. Now, let the class trial begin."

"I assert that the ones who were attacked were Miss Sayaka Maizono and Mister Yasuhiro Hagakure!" Taka quite loudly started the debate, his fist raised assertively as he made his point. It was clear that he was determined to get through this as fairly and on the straight and narrow as he could.

"…Yeah, we know that part already. I lived through part of it." Hiro stated, already exasperated by the moral committee chair.

"And Sayaka was attack took place in Makoto's room." Continued Byakuya, unfazed by the hobo's statement. "While another attack took place on Yasuhiro just outside the laundry room."

"So, it seems most likely that the attacker must have taken them both by surprise." Finished Chihiro, her head dipping lower as her eyes closed sadly. "They didn't even have a chance to resist."

"No! That's wrong!" Countered Makoto loudly, interrupting the flow that they started and almost making me squeal like a fangirl. He said what would become like his catchphrase for the first time. I didn't care that it didn't look as epic as the games and anime made it, I was still getting to watch it first- I mean second hand through Monokuma.

Moving on, Makoto explained, "Just a second Chihiro. With the way things, had been damaged, I think we can assume that there was a struggle of some kind in my room. Most likely, between Sayaka and her attacker."

"That much should be obvious after taking one look at the scene." Byakuya stated disappointedly, his arms once again crossed as he looked away. "It shouldn't even need explaining."

"S-Sorry" Apologized the programmer as an embarrassed blush developed on her face. It wasn't completely her fault; she hadn't even had a chance to see Makoto's room at all since she was busy helping Leon. But, it still stung a bit to be called out like that.

Still wanting to keep the conversation going, Hiro then asked, "So, what's next?"

"Next is the subject of the weapon used to attack them." Stated Sakura next, still physically imposing from her place next to Kyoko.

"Wow, this is actually starting to sound like a real trial." Hifumi sounded truly excited at the prospect. Of course, only trials he likely saw were the overly dramatic kinds in videogames and manga if I wasn't missing my guess.

"So, what was used to cause them harm?" Asked Sakura as politely as she could, considering what she was asking.

"It was a knife of some sort, the Monokuma files both state how they had both been stabbed by some sort of sharp object. Without a doubt, that is the weapon!" I had to wonder how Taka could keep up with that speaking pattern of his.

"So what, the attacker just picked up some random knife, and started swinging?" questioned Mondo, unsure as to where anyone would have gotten a knife in the first place. Though, he'd been guarding Makoto's room the whole time and had no idea of where the knife could have come from in the first place.

Once again, Makoto was there to set the record straight. "No. I do think it was a knife; but, not just any kind of knife. I'm almost positive that it was a kitchen knife. After the attack, we discovered that one of the knives from the kitchen was missing. That must have been what was used to attack them both."

"Oh…yeah, I guess that makes sense." The biker admitted understandingly. "But if that's the case, where did the knife end up afterwards?"

"We don't know." Said Hina, disappointment coloring her tone. "We looked all over the place, but no one could find it."

The others nodded along since none of them had found it themselves no matter where they'd look. I knew where it was, but I wasn't saying anything about it. I couldn't, I went out of my way to hide it after all. Leon was with me on that if his almost unnoticed sigh of relief was any indication.

Unfortunately, it just had to go wrong.

"Actually, I think I know where it went!" Said Hiro excitedly, grabbing everyone's attention.

Leon was the most shocked out of all of them, "Seriously? How'd you find anything? You were stuck in the infirmary."

The clairvoyant shrugged in response, "Yeah, you won't believe it but I found in the strangest place. See, when Monokuma was trying to get me in this wheelchair, I happened to knock my pillow over and this fell out of it."

Reaching into his pants pocket he pulled out the very kitchen knife they'd been talking about. It had some tufts of lint sticking to it, but the most noticeable thing about it was the dark stain running along the tip and the knife edge. There was no doubt about it, that was the knife that had been used on him and Sayaka.

Of course, I had already known it was there. I was the one to slip it under the pillow in the first place. I'd put it in there after I'd finished patching up the two injured parties. I had intended to come back for it later and wash it in the sink, but I had ended up forgetting about it instead.

That was my fault. I take full responsibility for that one.

"Inconceivable!" Exclaimed Hifumi as he practically leapt back off his seat just from how shocked he was. "The attempt to murder weapon was in the pillow of one of its would-be victims!?"

"Why did you not bring this up earlier?" demanded Byakuya, a small amount of anger coating his tone.

"Hey, cut me some slack!" Hiro rebutted, "Like I said, I only found it a little while ago. I didn't have a chance to tell anyone before Monokuma showed up and dragged me over here."

"B-But you still could have mentioned s-something before we got in the elevator, o-or before we started the trial." Pointed out Toko as she glared exasperated at the well-meaning clairvoyant. He blinked in response, clearly the thought having never occurred to him, before a sheepish grin slowly spread across his face as he started to scratch his cheek embarrassed.

"…Whoops. That's my bad."

"In any case," Sakura stated, trying to get the conversation back on track. "We know that the knife was the weapon."

"Yeah, but where does that get us." Brought up Leon, a bit agitated from Hiro's absentmindedness. "We all know Makoto was the one who attacked her, right!?"

"That's r-right…" Confirmed Toko nervously, continuing the line of thought. "Makoto's room was the s-scene of the crime. What more poof do you n-need? H-He probably attacked the k-klutzy hobo too."

"H-Hold on a sec. I'm-" Panicked Makoto, as he tried to deny the false accusations being thrown his way. I was a bit thrown off by the accusations myself. In the game, he had a reason to try and pin the blame on Makoto. He wanted to shift the blame away from him since he didn't want to be executed for killing Sayaka. But this time, there wasn't any blood on his hands, and he wasn't sought for murder.

So why was he suddenly so against the luckster? Toko was only pushing because of her desire to fit in was making her jump onto the first theory train she could. But Leon didn't have such an excuse. What had changed?

Thankfully, he had Kiyoko there to save his hide. "Let's draw our conclusions _after_ we've presented our arguments. Otherwise, there wouldn't be much of a point in having a class trial, would there?"

"Fine, whatever. We can talk all we want; it isn't going to change that result." With Leon momentarily pacified, our white-haired detective continued.

"I don't think that's true at all. I'm sure that if we keep at it, something will reveal itself." And with that, she was quite once more, no longer desiring to be the one speak about this subject. With that taken care of, the others decided to continue the debate with Leon taking point.

"Okay, so there's no question that the kitchen knife was the weapon, but where does that get us? I mean, Makoto had to have been the one to take the knife from the kitchen, or else it wouldn't have been there."

"No! That's wrong!" Reputed the luckster at the accusation the baseball star presented. "Yes, someone _did_ take the knife from the kitchen, but it wasn't me. In fact, I have a witness. Hina told me that she was in the dining hall yesterday evening and she was there when the knife went missing. She would have seen me if I even came close, right Hina?"

"…Yeah, t-that's right." Confirmed the swimmer nervously, likely unsure of where Makoto was going with this at first, then realization hit and she continued with more confidence in her voice. "Oh, yeah! I didn't see you at all last night! I'm sure of it."

"The knife disappeared while Hina was in the dining hall, but I wasn't there the entire time. In short, there's no way I could have taken the knife." Makoto stood more confidently then before, and I could see why. Now he had someone one his side for sure, he could start trying to find the real culprit.

Then Toko brought up a good point. "D-Doesn't that seem even more s-suspicious? The idiot s-swimmer girl and M-Makoto could be working t-together, in a-an attempt to p-protect each other, r-right?"

"Idiot swimmer girl!?" The highly offended Hina shouted before continuing with, "Oh, and more importantly, why would I get involved in something like that!?"

"Speaking of which, I'd like to ask the bear something…" Said the affluent heir as he turned to me expectantly. "if there _is_ an accomplice, do they also become "blackened"?"

"So you have asked, and so shall I answer." I stated through the afore mentioned bear, practically abuzz with excitement in being allowed to participate in some way; even if it was with Byakuya. "Well, it really depends on the trial involved. In both the normal trial and the supplement trial, the murder slash attempted murder may have an accomplice if they can convince someone, but only the one who does the killing will have the chance to graduate. It should also be noted that, in the event of a failed killing with the involvement of an extra party, it will result in the accomplice getting a detention at the end of the supplement trial."

"Detention?" Parroted the moral high ground Taka, to which I responded, "Yes, a week-long detention where they will be locked in their rooms with minimum interactions with their fellow students. Just to show you how much I don't like failed attempts."

I knew it was a bit complicated for some of them, if the confused expressions I was getting were any indication, but thankfully Kyoko was there to dumb it down for them. "So in other words, two people can work together, but one of them has no chance of profiting from it."

"Then there's no way anyone would work together, right?" the biker leader questioned, and he was mostly right. It wasn't likely any of them would have a reason to work together at all with this going against them, but that wouldn't stop them from trying if one of them was crafty enough. I knew that much from the third chapter.

"But, what if they _did_ work together, and they just didn't know about the rule?" worriedly asked Chihiro, and to be fair, she had a point. I'd only _just_ told them about this, so to an outside perspective someone might have done just that. However, it wasn't going to happen today, because it hadn't happened last night.

"Ugh, good grief. Well, why don't you ask those two you're accusing since everyone knows the rule _now_. See if either of them throws the other under the bus, then you'll know for sure." I stated, irritated that this was happening, even if I knew it would.

"Well, I'm not responsible for attacking Sayaka, or Hiro, and I'm not an accomplice." Stated Makoto without any hesitation, followed by Hina with, "Yeah, and I'm not either of those."

"So you say." Replied Byakuya, not yet entirely convinced. "but, it does change the fact that Asahina was the only one in the dining hall. She could have easily taken the knife herself if she so desired."

"No way! I-I was with someone the entire time I was in there!" Refuted the swimmer before gesturing across the room at the ultimate fighter. "Sakura was with me the entire time. We stuck together like glue all day yesterday."

Sakura gave a harsh nod in confirmation. "Aye, Asahina had not been feeling well after the videos and requested that I accompany her for some tea."

"Well, couldn't one of you taken the knife while the other wasn't looking?" Asked Hiro as he scratched a spot of his head injury that had likely been bothering him. Though, he had a point there. If one of them had the chance, they could have removed the knife themselves and snuck off with it to do who knows what. However, Hina debunked that theory right off the bat.

"Nope, no way! I was so scared after I had seen that stupid video commercial, so I asked Sakura to do me a favor." Hina continued with a small dusting of pink on her cheeks. It was clear that she was a bit embarrassed when she thought about what she'd asked the fighter to do for her. Thankfully, Sakura continued unperturbed in the swimmer girl's stead.

"Last night, I abode in Asahina's chambers…aye, slept by her very side. Indeed, each of us can give an alibi for the other." I knew that was true as well, it was surprisingly hilarious to see too. Thanks to the cameras, I could see them both as they went to sleep; along with the others, but we're focusing on these two right now. What made it funny was the fact that. While Hina had curled up on her side next to her, Sakura was flat on her back with one of the most awkward and stormy expressions I'd seen. If I were a betting man, I would have said that the reason for it was because of how unorthodox that had been for the very traditional focused fighter to sleep with another, girl or otherwise, without being married.

I just wish I hadn't had to focus on the situation with Sayaka, I would have taken a picture.

That was when Chihiro brought up another important point. "Um, but wouldn't that be against the school regulations?"

"The rules state that we are only allowed to sleep in the dorms," Celeste corrected the programmer in that calm, measured tone of hers. "it never said anything about us having to bunk within our own domiciles, so it would be fine."

But then, one of my favorite exchanges started. Taka immediately slammed one of his hands down hard on the edges of his podium and exclaimed. "Of course it's not fine. For a man and a woman to share a room…! It-it's immoral!"

"But…I am a woman." Corrected Sakura with a look of disbelief at his remark. I only barely managed to stop myself from snorting at that. It wasn't often that she was shocked by anything, so it was always interesting when it happened.

Immediately Taka lost ground and began backpedaling in shock. "Y-You are!? Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry."

I couldn't not laugh at that, "Hahaha! Oh, wow. I mean really. How didn't you know that already? What, did the bust or skirt not tip you off? Woo! Talk about unobservant!" I knew it was cruel of me to do so, I mean, his face had gone so red that even his ears were starting to glow. But, it was worth it to see Sakura blush as well.

"B-be quiet! I-it was an honest mistake!"

"In any case." Stated Celeste as she tried to get back on topic. "if neither Hina, Sakura or Makoto didn't take the knife, then we are at a stalemate. We are out of suspects."

That worried the others. Without a possible suspect, they wouldn't be able to continue this line of questioning. There would be no way of finding someone out as the culprit unless someone were to speak up, this would be where it ends.

Thankfully, Hina would be the one to provide the clue they needed. She hesitated, and I watched her shift uncomfortably in her podium, but eventually, she said, "…Actually, there was one other person to enter the dining hall."

Naturally, some were confused as to why she hadn't brought this up with Byakuya being the one to voice it. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

She didn't reply for a moment at first, merely lowered her head sadly, but just when it looked like the others were going to get impatient with her, she spoke. "Because… they were already suffering enough."

Her words were soft as she spoke, her voice filled with regret for what she was about to reveal to the others. She likely knew what the ramifications were for either telling or not, but she had to know that it was too late to take it back now. So, with a sigh she admitted that, "Sayaka Maizono… She came into the dining hall before she was attacked."

There was an incredible amount of shock on the other's faces, but Makoto was the most shocked out of all of them. It wouldn't have made sense to him considering how she had been acting the night before, so scared and vulnerable, he obviously couldn't rap his mind around it. "Sayaka…was the one who…"

"Aye. Thinking back, 't would be hard to say she was her usual self." Sakura elaborated as she remembered the events of the night before. "She ne'er so much as glanced at us when she strode into the kitchen. She claimed that she sojourned thither for a drink, but most likely…that is when she took the knife."

"Are you saying, _Maizono_ was the one to take the knife?" Makoto asked in disbelief, still having difficulty accepting what was being told to him. Sakura was quite for a second, seemingly trying to think of a way to answer his question, but then she spoke.

"…She would be the most likely suspect…but, there was one other that might have done it." And then, the muscle-bound women turned to look at…me. "Monokuma was also there that night…Sharpening the knives from the kit…including the one that went missing."

My jaw dropped as she turned the tables on me, but before I could refute, Hina jumped in. "Oh yeah! Monokuma _was_ there when Sayaka showed up. He could have taken the knife when we left!"

Of all the rotten…! "Hey, hey, hey! What's this nonsense now! I'll have you know that I put all of those knives right back where I'd gotten them."

"So you say," Replied Byakuya with that infuriating smirk of his that made me want to slug him for that remark. Now I must defend myself from these accusations. "but then why were you messing around with the knife set in the first place?"

"Unbelievable." I said with a growl. "As I _told_ those three girls last night, I am responsible for the maintenance of much of this establishment. While the chore list is for you all to decide, who does what, there are somethings here that only I can operate. Knife care and repair is one of those."

"But, you were still there, right?" asked Hiro aggressively, turning as best as he could in his wheelchair to point at me. "You could have just grabbed a knife and slipped away like you are always doing!"

Grr, that loud mouth. "For the love of- _NO._ Okay, I couldn't have taken the knife even if I had wanted to. For your information, on top of the school regulations, _I_ have a set of rules that I must follow myself that prevent me from making the game unfair for you all. For example, I am _not_ allowed to kill anyone that hasn't broken one of my rules, nor am I allowed to take items from a room _unless it is solely for cleaning of a post crime scene_. Okay? And in case you had forgotten, _miss Ogami and Aoi_ , I had put the very knife you found missing back on the rack when I explained that to you."

Huffing as I crossed the bear's arms angrily as I turned away. The shear nerve of them, accusing me of breaking my own rules to kill someone. The gall they had to say that about me. I don't care that I was technically the one holding them here, that kind of talk was uncalled for.

"But if you didn't take the knife, then…" Makoto cut off, unwilling to finish his sentence, so I cut in. "The victim Sayaka Maizono! _She's_ the one who took the knife…!"

Then, in that moment I remembered, I wasn't supposed to tell them that. They were supposed to figure that out on their own. "Whoops! Did I say that out loud?"

"She…She probably took for self-defense." Makoto tried to defend her actions, but the sweat pouring down his forehead made his argument lose some of its potency. "She was scared out of her wits, so she must have taken it to protect herself."

"Then the culprit must have wrestled the knife from her at some point, then they turned around and attacked her." Byakuya reasoned as he adjusted his glasses, if for no other reason than to make the light glare off them. It was a fair assumption, and it was fairly accurate to what had happened; even thought it was only _fairly_ accurate. But then, the affluent prodigy brought up another theory. "But if that's the case, then Makoto might not have taken the knife, but he still could have attacked her."

Poor Makoto panicked at the accusation being flung back at him once more and left him stammering to defend himself. "What!? H-Hold on! I…"

Thankfully for his sake, Kiyoko was still on his side in this. "Hold on. It's still too early to conclusively decide that Makoto is the culprit just yet, wouldn't you say? Because you see, if the room did belong to the culprit, then they did something truly bewildering. And until we unravel that little mystery, we can't decide that Makoto is the instigator."

"Bewildering?" the Biker gang leader questioned, frustration coating his tone as he glared at the purple themed detective. It was clear he was getting tired of being given the run around instead of just getting the answers. He wasn't the only one, that much was curtain, but he was defiantly the most vocal one right now. "What the hell are you talking about."

"Something was missing from the scene that by all accounts should have been there. If it was the culprit's room they wouldn't have needed to remove it at all, it wouldn't have been suspicious if it was still there. Yet, when you look around, ever bit of it was gone. You know what I'm talking about, right Makoto?" She looked at the luckster patiently, her eyes demanding that he answers correctly. Thankfully he was quick to pick up on what she was referring to.

"That's right! There wasn't any hair anywhere in my room! The floor was completely clear of it!" As his explanation finished, Mondo realized something from the part of the investigation he'd been there for as well.

"Right… I remember now. Didn't you say it looked like your lint roller had been used while we were there? The bastard must have used it to remove some evidence from the crime scene before I got there. Damn, that's sneaky."

"Right," Makoto confirmed conclusively, "And if I was the one to attack Sayaka, I wouldn't have needed to remove my own hair, because it was _my_ room!"

"The reason the hair was gone…" theorized Celeste, still not quite convinced about Makoto's innocence, "…was to remove any trace that Sayaka had been there. That makes sense, does it not?"

"No," disagreed Kyoko stoically. "If that were the case, he wouldn't have bothered letting us know the state about the lint roller. He would have hidden it or written it off."

"Okay, but then why wasn't there any hair on the ground?" Leon questioned in a way that sounded sincere, but I could tell it was more to keep suspicion off him.

Either way, Kiyoko answered his question. "It was so that the true culprit would remove any evidence of them being there. With that in mind, it's impossible to believe the culprit and the owner of the room to be one and the same."

"That… is true." Reluctantly agreed Byakuya, "Plus, if Makoto had wanted to make sure no one would know it was him, he would have been more thorough when he cleaned up the crime scene instead of coming to inform us that she had gone missing… Alright then, I'll accept that you _might_ not be the culprit…for now."

"Eh? But then how did the culprit get into Makoto's room?" Chihiro questioned, her eyes traveling away from the group as she thought about it. "I know if I was as scared as she was, I wouldn't open the door for any reason."

"Oh, maybe they just rang the doorbell! You know, tricked her into opening the door for them!" Stated Hiro excitedly, his loud voice echoing through the room as he expressed his thoughts. Unfortunately for his idea, Makoto didn't agree with that for one good reason.

"No, Sayaka and I promised not to open the door for any reason. It wouldn't make sense for her to go against that promise after going through the effort of swapping rooms in the first place." That was a fair belief as well. They had swapped rooms to keep her safe after all, if this was a normal circumstance, there wouldn't be a reason for her to leave then.

Sad to say though, these weren't normal circumstances.

For a moment, the students were silent as they tried to think about this. How could the criminal have gotten into the room? Leon asked if someone could have picked the lock, but Taka shut it down by quoting my own statement about how the locks were unable to pick. Hifumi questioned if someone simply broke the lock, but I shot it down by stating that an alarm would have gone off if the main door was tampered with and would have given to offender a hardy zap if they had done so. One after another, ideas were being brought up and then shot down by one of the students and it looked like it might end in another stalemate. Fortunately, Kyoko was there to bring up her own theory.

"I believe the answer is, unfortunately, simpler then you'd think." Reaching into her jacket, she pulled out a sheet of paper that I'd been waiting for this whole time. On the side, she showed, most the entire page had been rubbed over with pencil lead, turning most of it black. However, looking closer revealed that words had been imprinted into the paper that had been missed completely by the pencil lead.

While I didn't need to look at the paper to know, I still knew that it said, " _I'd like to discuss something with you. Please come to my room in fifteen minutes. Be sure to check the nameplate on the door so you don't visit the wrong room by mistake, okay?"_ and then, the most important part of the note came. It was signed… _Sayaka Maizono_.

"This is a note made by Sayaka Maizono." Kyoko redundantly stated, probably just to make it clear for those that couldn't see it from across from her. Either way, she continued with, "She lead the perpetrator to her by personal invitation. I rubbed a pencil across the notepad in Makoto's room, doing so revealed this massage. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it was very effective in this case. Most likely, she slipped it under the culprit's door to lure them to her."

Needless to say, that caught the others completely off guard. "So the victim… _invited_ the culprit into the room!?"

"That would appear to be the case." Kyoko answered Hina's question with closed eyes, her expression unreadable to all who looked at it. It didn't make sense to them though. And it showed best through Makoto.

"H-hold on a second! She never would have done that! Sayaka was terrified…absolutely terrified! She-She said that someone tried to force open her door! That's why…That's why she swapped rooms with me! There was no way she would let anyone into the room!" He was shaking in his spot, his fists clenched tightly as he pressed them into the cool wood of his stand. He was barely holding it together over there and I couldn't stop my heart from clenching tightly as I watched on.

It was heart wrenching to watch him break down like that. This was supposed to be my greatest enemy here that I was looking at here, yet all I could think about was how miserable he looked like this. Not for the first time I wanted to just stop all of this just because of the pain I was causing these people. It was getting harder to convince myself that this needed to happen.

It certainly did not help that Kyoko was going to make him except the reality of what happened. "…What if she was only pretending to be afraid?"

"Huh?" Makoto asked in disbelief as he looked at the silvery haired girl, completely shocked that she would even suggest such a thing. "What are you talking about? Why would Sayaka even do something like that!"

Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't be getting any proper answers from her anytime soon as she continued to make him figure it out on his own. "If you wish to know, then you are going to have to figure out what happened once the culprit got into the room. There you will find the answers you seek."

They didn't have much of a choice now. No one else was offering any ideas, so it was with a margin of reluctance that the others agreed to try and piece together the scene of Sayaka's attack.

It should be no surprise that, as one of the guards that had been assigned to watch over the scene, Mondo took the lead of this one. "Alright, then I guess we should to start with that replica sword we found."

* * *

'It's so warm.'

This was her first thought as she slowly came too, her mind foggy and her body warm as she began the slow return to consciousness. Her eyes were heavy and to her they felt like lead weights as she tried to open them even slightly. Her body was no better off, despite the soothing warmth she felt on it. Every movement felt difficult and sluggish.

Her limbs were pretty much unresponsive, every inch feeling numb. There was a small sensation of some kind coming from each of her wrists, a dull throbbing from her right, and feeling of something intruding into her left. Anytime she attempted to move either arm, the feeling would become painful instead and would only calm back down if she stopped moving and gave it time to settle.

'It hurts.' she thought to herself as she tried to figure out what had happened, but with her senses all muddled as they were, it was hard to focus on any single thing. 'Why does it hurt…?'

Her mind tried its best to answer her, tried to tell her about what it had filed away for her so that she could remember, but it just couldn't quite get past the fog in her head. There were bits and pieces, but nothing concrete.

She didn't know how long she spent trying to piece things together, but nothing was standing out no matter how she tried. It was no use; she would just have to open her eyes herself and see what was going on.

It took a lot of effort to even get her eyelids to cooperate with her desire, and more than a few times she was ready to just give up on it. However, she was nothing if not determined to sate her curiosity, so gathering up as much energy as she could, she forced her eyes to open.

It took a moment for her eyes to focus, but eventually she was met with the sight of a white tile roof. Taking a small sniff of the air revealed the light smells of cleaning chemicals and disinfectants she could vaguely recall smelling whenever she visited the hospital, so maybe that was where she was. Listening didn't change much as the room was silent, but if she strained her ears she could make out the slow breathing of someone sleeping nearby.

Straining her neck to force her head up, she slowly turned her sight to where the source of the breathing was roughly located at. As she did, she saw another woman sleeping on a cot nearby, their long hair and curvy figure giving away their gender without any issue. There was some concern felt when she noticed a trail of blood leading from the bed to the floor, but this was negated by the sight of an I.V. bag half full of blood leading to the girl's other side.

With that out of the way, she turned her head to look around the room she had found herself in. from what she could see from her spot, she would have to guess that she was in doctor's office. It was easy to come to that assumption, considering the cabinets of medicine, medical cots like the ones she and the other girl were on, examination light hanging from the ceiling, and the like.

This was only further confirmed by the IV in the other women's arm. There weren't many other places that she could think of where such a thing would be commonly found, and all of them would be only under exceedingly unusual circumstances. So, she felt safe in her assumptions about this place being a med lab of some sort.

But, that raised the question. 'What am I doing here?'

Trying to think back through the fog, memories of the night before started to slowly trickle back to her and caused her to gasp. She was a student at Hope's Peak Academy, forced to take part in the game of mutual killing. She had been here little over a week and she had been disturbed to learn that her closest friends and fellow idols might have been forcefully disband by the mastermind behind all of this.

Then, tears started to flow from her eyes as she recalled what she'd done after. How she'd plotted to murder her music lover of an Ultimate and then pin the blame on her close childhood schoolmate to escape this living nightmare. Then when she'd failed and even ended stabbing herself instead, she ran away and accidentally cut Yasuhiro in her blind fleeing.

Instinctually she tried to raise her right arm to wipe away her tears, when a sudden spike of pain lanced up her arm and caused her to recoil violently. Slowly, as to not aggravate whatever part of her that was causing this agony, she carefully lifted the damaged appendage and went wide at the sight. Her limp hand dangled unresponsive due to her broken wrist, the joint swollen by quite a large margin and a blend of dark purple and black decorating the flesh. It was a painful sight to behold and it didn't help that it just as agonizing to feel as it was to look at.

A hiss of air escaped from between her teeth as she tried to pull in the broken limb, instinctually trying to bring it close to protect it. However, as she reached with her other arm to guard the injured one, she was suddenly met with resistance in the form of a long red tube emerging from a needle taped to her left wrist. Now aware of this other development, she followed the tubing up to find a nearly empty blood bag hanging just out of the edge of her peripheral view.

'Did-did someone…save me?' The thought came to her with a feeling of confusion. Why would anyone save her after all of that? Didn't they know what she'd done? What she'd nearly ended up doing?

But, even more confusing was, _who_ was the one who saved her? It couldn't have been Leon; she'd tried to kill him after all. There was no reason for him to even try after what she'd done. If anything, he would every right to kill her in retaliation for her betrayal of his trust.

Makoto wasn't even a consideration. He had locked himself in her room at the time and promised not to leave. If there was one thing she did remember about him from their middle school days, he always kept his word. Even when he didn't like it, he was the one everyone could count on. It was one of the traits about him she liked the most.

And Hiro had been down for the count. She had _seen_ him smack his head and pass out. Not hard to figure out he hadn't helped her. Besides, even if she hadn't knocked him out, he still wouldn't have helped her since she'd stabbed him in the first place. There was just no way she could think of that he would have helped her.

But, that didn't answer her question. If none of them were the ones who saved her life, then who was it? She couldn't think of who it would have been. If it had been one of the others, then it meant that they would have broken the night time rule and stumbled upon her and Hiro by the laundry room. But that didn't make sense either since when she looked around he wasn't here.

Did whoever save her leave the Ultimate Clairvoyant behind? The thought caused an uncomfortable lump to form in her throat. He may have been a bit of a creep with his attempting to con everyone out of hundreds to thousands of yen with his thirty percent accurate fortune telling, but he didn't deserve that. No, if anything, _she_ was the one to deserve that fate.

She was the one who jumped straight to attempting murder. _She_ was the one who had betrayed her closest friend to flee from this retched place and pin her crime on him. _She_ was the one who couldn't let go of what she'd seen and instigated this terrible series of events. _She_ was the guilty one here no one else.

Her depressing thoughts continued to plague her, her guilt eating away at her soul as tears ran down her face. There was no redemption for her after what she had tried to do. As far as she was concerned, it might have been better if she had died.

"You know, just because I'm used to seeing girls cry, doesn't make it any less disheartening to walk in on." So, lost in riding her emotional descent that she was caught completely off guard when someone stated that it caused her train of thought to abruptly stop. With a small "Eep!" escaping her lips, she immediately attempted to leap away from the cause.

This turned out to be a mistake. Not only did her hasty movement reignite the pain in her broken wrist, but it agitated her side and caused an injury of some sort to light up. Once more hissing through her teeth, she spared a glance down to her side where a nasty surprise awaited her and caused her eyes to widen at the sight.

There, just along the bottom of her rib line, was an array of black thread stitching a large jagged cut in her flesh closed. Just under it was a blooded pad with strips of medical tape attached to it that had come loose from her due to her panicked jump.

Despite knowing that she had company, she couldn't draw her eyes away from the disfigurement. Her gaze traced over every stitch, every detail forever burning into her mind. There were no doubts that this would leave a scar, one that would not be easily ignored by anyone lucky enough to catch it. This image would be forever trapped in her subconscious for the rest of her life.

She was so focused on this new development, she almost missed the white paw moving towards the pad until it pushed it back over her stitched-up wound. As it started carefully reattaching the strips of tape, she followed the limb up to its owner and immediately had to purse her lips to prevent herself from screaming.

There stood the very bear that had trapped her in this place. The mastermind who'd given her that awful video and gotten her to attempt to murder someone in cold blood was standing right there and was patching her back up. This image was so contradictory to the image she'd built up about this individual that she was stricken silent as she watched it work, afraid that any sudden movements might cause it to lash out against her. With her in such a weakened state of being, there was no contest regarding who the winner of that fight would be.

For a good solid minute, the bear worked on her in silence, barely even glancing at her as it worked. It was strange how almost… gentle it seemed to be acting. Its touch was light and careful, uncharacteristically kind from everything she'd known of the demented creature so far and it only made her feel incredibly unnerved and confused the more she watched it work.

Finally, it seemed to finish reapplying her bandages and backed off with a nod of its two-toned head. "Okay, good. Looks like you didn't reopen anything when you moved like that, but I'd be more careful if I was you, missy. You never know what could happen if you broke a seem before it finishes healing."

Again, it stunned her with its words. Wasn't this the person who was trying to get everyone to kill each other? Why would they care if anything happened to her? Wasn't that what they wanted? For her to die?

It went against everything they'd been preaching since they'd gotten here.

Seemingly unaware of the veritable storm cloud of conflict going on in her mind, the bear leapt off the cot and grabbed something white on the nearby door knob before waddling back to her, tossing the item at her as it did. "Now then, I know you've got a lot of questions right now, but they'll have to wait till later. Come on let's get you dressed."

"…Dressed?" she parroted before glancing down…

…Only to then realize that she was almost naked from the waist up, and that the 'white pile' Monokuma had tossed at her was the top half of her uniform, including her bra. All she had on was the medical pad on her wound, and a couple smaller ones covering up her breasts.

Instantly, her face lit up in a deep scarlet blush; both at the sudden realization of her state of dress, and embarrassment at having not noticing it earlier. I shrill screak burst forth from her lips as she used her only working hand to hastily grab her blouse and hold it up over her chest to preserve what remained of her modesty.

"…Seriously?" deadpanned the two-tone bear, completely in disbelief at her actions. "Did you seriously _just_ notice that you were barely dressed?"

"I wasn't really focused on it at the time, okay!?" For a moment, the bear didn't speak, simply content to stand there staring at her. Then, its paws slowly raised up and met its face with a soft, "pouf".

"…My god, I've seen some dumb things in my life, but that is high up there as one of the dumbest thing I'd seen yet." Ignoring any attempt that she made to dispute the claim, the bear dropped its paw back down with a sigh and climbed back onto the cot. "Whatever. Let's just get those clothes on you already."

"W-Wait." She exclaimed, pulling the blouse tighter to her chest. "I-I can get dressed myself. I don't need you looking over my shoulder."

He said nothing as he stared at her, his gaze increasingly unnerving as the seconds passed by. His beady eye and his jagged red eye slowly moved to look at her right hand and the broken wrist it was attached to. Then they traveled to the other wrist where the IV was still attached. Finally, its sight traveled back up to her face before it tilted its head with exasperated confusion.

She didn't need to be psychic to guess what he was thinking.

"…R-Right. Um…c-could you…promise not to stare…?" She knew it was a long shot to make such a request now, the one controlling Monokuma didn't have any reason to even humor her, but it didn't hurt to ask.

Fortunately, their response was, "My dear, Sayaka Maizono. I am a bear of standards. My morals regarding people being made dead for entertainment may fall under all kinds of scrutiny, but my standing in maintaining my T rating should not be called into question. I am not some hormonally charged teenage boy who can only have a shot at real T&A in a dirty magazine, or perving in the bathhouse. I am a professional and a gentleman. Moreover, I'm a _bear_. What do I care about your _human_ sweater puppies?"

It didn't necessarily make her feel better, but at least it was a start. So, with great reluctance, she lowered her arms and passed the blouse and bra back to Monokuma. To his credit, he didn't even glance at her chest as he picked up the cloth support and slipped it over her chest. After an embarrassing minute of his hooking the clasps together, he took her blouse and helped her slip it over her head. Then, after taking a minute to carefully remove the now empty IV from her arm and putting a bandage on the hole it left behind, he then helped her slip the arm through the sleeve.

Then came the hard part; the arm with the broken wrist. They had to go slow to avoid jarring it too much, otherwise it would cause her incredible amounts of pain and be forced to stop to let it settle back to manageable levels before trying again. Thankfully, that only happened a few times and each time Monokuma stayed surprisingly patient and even more surprisingly supportive. Once that was done, the bear grabbed a roll of gauze off the counter and a basic six-inch ruler from the small rolling table she had missed in her initial search of the room.

"Hold still," The bear commanded softly as he placed the ruler across the back of her hand, just barely avoiding her swollen part of her arm. "I'm going to splint this for you so that it has a chance to heal properly. You'll have to bear with a bit of pain though, but it'll be worth it in the end."

She was still wary of his intentions for helping her like this, but she knew he was right. It would be better if it was properly splinted, she knew that much. It also would cause her a bit of discomfort to have it put on, but it be better in the long run.

But as the bear started his work, she couldn't help but wonder. "Why…?"

"Huh?" Monokuma replied, pausing in his work with the strip only having finished wrapping the forearm and just about to move on to her hand to balance it.

"Why are you going through so much trouble if I'm just going to…t-to be killed anyway?" Her voice was shaky as she spoke, tears once again poking at the edges of her eyes.

"…What makes you think that?" He inquired after a period, his voice emotionless as he continued to work on her arm, but it was brushed aside as she continued her questioning.

"Your rule. The one about getting caught. "The only way to leave this the school is to murder someone without getting caught" I broke your rule by getting caught. If you're going to punish me anyway, then…why bother helping me…?"

Monokuma was silent for several minutes, focusing solely on her arm. Other than a few hisses of pain occasionally, Sayaka was silent too, worrying about what his response would be. So, they sat in an uncomfortable silence.

Just when she couldn't take it anymore, Monokuma finally spoke, "I don't think of it that way."

"Huh?" she didn't know if it was his whimsical tone of his statement that confused her more.

"Well, in my book, _attempting_ to break a rule, and _actually_ breaking a rule are a bit different. Yes, it's true that you _tried_ to murder someone to escape, and if you had succeeded I would have to punish you. But you _failed_. That means that you were unable to disrupt the sanctity of these halls and only you and the one you attempted to do in know about it as far as the class is concerned. Remember, _I_ can only intervene against those that are _successful_ at killing someone. So, it no longer falls to me if you fail."

Now he turned to look her in the eyes, his task of wrapping up her arm now finished. "No, it falls to your peers as to what happens to you now."

"…!" A cold, dark pit started forming in her stomach at the words. But before she could ask what he meant by that, he continued.

"Right now, your classmates are down below us, having a class trial to find the instigator of last night's events. Now, you, me, and Leon Kuwata are the only ones who know the actual answer to that, but that won't be the case soon enough. For now, neither Leon or I have told them anything, but I have no doubts in my mind that the others will figure it out soon enough, with or without our help. Once that happens, I will be putting your fate in their hands. _They_ and only they, will be the ones to decide your future here."

She couldn't speak, her words had been robbed from her. Her classmates were going to decide her fate? They were going to learn about all she had done last night? "N-No. T-They…"

"Yeah, I know. It's a sad story, girl." Monokuma interrupted, his tone uncaring about her problems. "But too bad, it's too late for regrets now. You've got a date to keep downstairs. Now, don't waste both of our time struggling, and let's get you into this wheelchair."

What could she do? It was as he said, it was too late for regrets. All she could do was…accept the inevitable.

With a heavy heart, she let Monokuma help her into the chair, being careful not to nock her injury in the process. It was surprisingly difficult to do; her body was very sluggish to respond to her commands and it caused her to nearly fall down several times. However, Monokuma was there to keep her from doing so, keeping a strong grasp on her the whole time and moving slow enough to accommodate her.

She might have questioned his behavior, but she was focused more on her own movements and what would be happening to her that it completely slipped her mind. Once she was firmly seated into the wheelchair, she let him lead her out into the hall way and towards the red doors that would seal her fate.

* * *

"…So, let's see if I'm hearing this right. Sayaka led this person, the culprit, to her room with a note. Then, when they got there, she attacked them with the knife she took from the kitchen. When that happened, the culprit grabbed the replica sword, while it was still in its sheath, and defended themselves. After that, they took the sword out of the sheath, and broke her wrist with the sword…am I following along so far?"

I had to resist a sigh as Hiro summarized what they had finally figured out in the past several minutes. Honestly, it was bad enough that I had to listen to this all again as they debated over the actions of who they thought was the culprit was, but when the slower ones dumbed down the course of events, it dragged things down for me.

I was, however, a bit thankful that they established where they were it their debates so far, otherwise I'd be just about as lost as Hiro tended to be. With the elevator now beginning its accent to pick up the actual culprit, it would only be a matter of time before the truth would come to this trial room.

I had to thank whoever designed the Monokuma control room for making it possible to use multiple Monokuma at once, otherwise this might have been more problematic than anything else. It was rather easy to understand in concept, all you had to do was activate a Monokuma in a different room and they would both respond to any command input into them. With enough dexterity, you could even control dozens of them at once to do separate tasks each.

Sadly, executing such actions in practice was far more difficult than you can imagine. Just making one Monokuma do some more incredible feats, such as doing a front-flip summersault over a certain luckster from a dead start for example, required a _lot_ of commands made for just one of them. I could barely keep up with just that much alone, and I've been lead to believe then somehow Junko could simultaneously command hundreds of the damn things, plus the traps in the walls and floors, _and_ the mounted turrets _all at the same time_.

Thankfully for my sanity, controlling the two I had been had been made so much more simple since the courtroom Monokuma was sitting down and didn't need any major input. Even better was that the rest of the Monokuma could be simply put into a form of "Cleaning mode" so that I wouldn't need to focus on them as they repaired and cleaned up all the damages from the attack. Hey, they _were_ built to be maid-bots, so to speak.

Regardless, I was reminiscing too much now, I needed to focus on the trial.

"That's really all we have figured out now." Asahina chimed in as exasperated as I felt for Hiro right now.

"Yeah, but then what happened next? Did they just stab her with the knife or something?" Leon asked,

"That could very well be what happened." Confirmed Taka, his face scrunched up with either rage or disgust at what he was agreeing too. "After forcing miss Sayaka to let go of the knife, the culprit must have then taken it and used it to stab her!"

"…Are we sure that the culprit is the one who stabbed Sayaka?" Kyoko interjected with a questioning gaze, causing a bit of an uproar from the others.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Shouted Mondo, a vane in his forehead throbbing wildly as he spoke. "Of course the culprit stabbed her! Why the hell else would we even be talking about this whole fucking time!?"

"But don't you think it's odd?" she continued, undeterred by his loud angry voice. "If the culprit had stabbed her there, then why did she survive? And by that same vain, how did she end up in the infirmary? The same infirmary that until last night had been locked."

That was the question they had to figure out. Something that they were starting to realize themselves. "That is true. If this were a true killer mastermind like we've seen, then they would have made sure that she was dead right there. Why would they let her go after that?"

"Hell if I know! Maybe they got some sick fetish for watching girls struggle or something!" Leon tossed out his remark like a fastball against Hifumi's question. But that would be shot down as well by Makoto.

"I don't think that's the case… If the culprit got the knife, then I don't think she would still be alive. They would have killed her right then. But, what if Sayaka took back the knife with _her other hand_?"

"S-Saywhaaa!" Shouted the startled Hifumi before Makoto continued. "If Sayaka took the knife back with her left hand, the one that wasn't broken, then she could have escaped without being killed at all."

"But then, why would she have that stab wound?" countered Celeste, not quite convinced that was what happened. "If Sayaka did as you said, then she would only have the broken wrist, but as we have established, she still was stabbed at some point. So, I ask you, where did she get that stab wound?"

Makoto was silent for a while, unable to figure out how she had gotten the wound. He was wracking his brain trying to piece this puzzle together, I could tell just from the amount of concentration on his face, but he was struggling. It didn't look like he was going to be able to figure it out.

But then, someone I didn't expect spoke up. "…Maybe it was an accident?"

All eyes wandered over to the speaker, the ultimate baseball star, who wore an expression that for once I couldn't identify. "An interesting theory. What makes you say that?"

Leon turned to Byakuya with that same unreadable expression. "Okay, hear me out here. What if, and this a big _if_ , but what if Sayaka tried to hide somewhere and she took the knife with her. Then, when she tried to get into this hiding place, something made her trip or something and she… cut herself with the knife?"

Several eyes widened at what he said, but ever the cynic Byakuya needed more than an _if_. "And what evidence do you have to support this?"

Leon started breaking out into a sweat, and my palm met my forehead. He did not think this through, of bloody course. I should have guessed that he would mess this up as well. But fortunately, as he was fumbling his words, he was struck with inspiration.

"I…That is- Wait. Makoto! You know what it is right?" He clearly caught the Luckster off guard, but he pushed on anyway. "Y-You know. That _thing_. The one spot that proves that she might have had an accident. That thing!"

"That thing?" Makoto parroted in confusion which made Leon sweat even harder, but then his fortune came through as the Luckster remembered the detail he was hoping for. "Are you talking about the bloodstain on my bathroom door?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" confirmed the all-star excitedly. "If Sayaka tried to hide in the bathroom, but messed up somehow, then she could have gotten the cut there, right?"

"Eh? But how would she have cut herself then if she tried to hide in the bathroom?" questioned the little Chihiro, to which Leon nearly panicked again.

"I-I don't know, I'm just saying that it could be that she tried to get in and maybe she just forgot to unlock the door or something." Unfortunately for him, that was not the right answer to give when Taka was listening.

"Impossible! If you recall from the note we had all been given from Monokuma, the male dorms don't have any locks on their bathroom doors!"

"That might be right for all the other dorms," responded Makoto, unknowingly saving Leon's hide in the process "but that actually could have happened with my room. My bathroom door has a wonky frame and gets stuck all the time. It has a trick to it, and it is easy to open when you know it, otherwise it won't budge. Monokuma can vouch for that."

I smiled a bit. Finally, some inclusion. "Yep, that's right. It's all kinds of irritating that the contractor messed that one up, but since it would be more annoying to get it replaced, I've been kind of putting it off. But, ya know it's kinda funny when you think about it. You're supposed to be the "Ultimate Lucky Student", right? Yet out of everyone here, _you_ got the room with the cruddy door. The sure irony of it all, right!?"

"Anyway," Interrupted Byakuya, "that would explain how she got hurt, but that doesn't explain one thing, why would she try to hide in the bathroom but instead hurt herself on it, if she knew it was jammed?"

A scarlet blush creeped across Makoto's face. "…I never told anyone about the jam. I kind of forgot to as the week went by. Not even Sayaka knew about it."

"Then that would explain why she would crash into the door and injure herself." Stated Sakura. "without the knowledge of the door's secret, she would have no ability to enter it and thus would possibly run headlong into it should she attempt to hide within."

"But, then why would she try to hide in the bathroom if she thought it wouldn't lock?" The confused Asahina asked and truth be told, that one stumped me. Why _had_ she tried to barricade herself inside Makoto's room in the first place? She couldn't have known about the wonky frame, she proved that much when she ran head first into the door. And she of course knew that, as a boy's dorm, the door wouldn't have a lock on it to dissuade anyone. So why bother trying to hide in there?

"T-The bathroom doors only o-open inwards, don't they?" asked Toko nervously, her thumbnail caught between her teeth as she tried to keep herself from freaking out over the attention she was getting now by speaking up. "C-Couldn't she have tried t-to barricade the door with her own body weight?"

"Oh yeah!" chimed in Hiro, taking the spotlight from poor Toko in the process. "That's true! That way, if you were ambushed in your room, you'd still have a safe place to hide! Sayaka must have been planning to wait it out when she realized that she messed up! Good thinking Toko!"

Now, this would be the part where most people would accept the compliment and move on. Toko, however, is not most people. "S-Shut up! I d-don't need to hear such insincere p-praise f-from a brain-dead h-hobo."

"Hey! Who are you calling "brain dead"!?" Oh, sure, he only takes offence to that part.

" _Anyway_." Sighed the ultimate gambler, her exasperation almost palatable from the scene the two had. "if what Toko said is true, then it would also explain why she would have gotten that cut as well, correct?"

"True, true," confirmed Hifumi as he adjusted his glasses to make them flash in the light. "with the door jammed and her unknowing of that, she would have run right into it. Even more so with her being panicked from her failed assassination. With enough momentum, she could have sliced her gut by mistake."

"Hey yeah, that reminds me. Didn't ya say that her cut was kinda jagged?" Mondo ask Kyoko, as she was the one who gave the pop-idol the first look over.

"Indeed." Our resident detective confirmed "I had thought it was strange that whomever had attacked her would have cut her in such a way."

Unfortunately, Hiro didn't understand the ramifications of this. "Huh? What's strange about it?"

"Normally, if someone were attack someone else with the desire to kill, they would aim for their stomach or neck. It's a very common method of murder." It was clear to more than just myself that Byakuya wasn't particularly thrilled to have to inform the slow thinking clairvoyant about what he should have realized himself.

"But, Sayaka was stabbed at a weird angle, along her ribs. If they were trying to kill her with the knife, they wouldn't have cut her in such a bizarre way." Makoto finished up the basic summery

"Then, if that's how she got her cut, then doesn't it mean that whoever she brought over wasn't the instigator then?" Leon pondered aloud. But really, I already knew the real reason he was asking. With the theory that Sayaka had been the one to initiate these events up till this point, and that her wound on her side was self-inflicted, he could better keep their focus on the facts that he wanted them to know about.

But, there was still one matter they still haven't addressed yet. "Yeah, that's kinda what it sounds like, but then who's the one who attacked me?"

Hiro had a point and they all knew it. They still had to figure out that half of the mystery if they had any hope of besting this game. "It would be best if Yasuhiro recounted what happened again. Maybe something new will come to light."

The only adult in the room shook his head at Kyoko's statement, obviously still frustrated that he couldn't recall who had attacked him. "I don't see how that will help anything. I mean I told you guys, I can't remember anything from last night."

"Please Hiro. Just run it by us one more time." Makoto pleaded with him, his eyes glinting in a way that could twist at the heart. Hiro sighed explosively, but he still nodded in acceptance.

"Alright, alright. I get it." And with a moment to collect his thoughts, Hiro began his tale.

"Okay so, after we finished up our late-night meeting, I decided to go search for my crystal ball. I misplaced it a couple of days ago, and I wanted to be sure that no one came around and took it, ya know?" There was a muttered comment from Toko about how, "only you would want anything that stupid." But, it was either ignored or went unnoticed.

"So, I went into the laundry room to see if it was in there. I remembered that I had taken it out of my pockets earlier so that I could wash my jacket. It was getting bit ripe." TMI dude. "I was looking in there for a while, about an hour or two, but I found it sitting in a pile of clothes. I was so excited; it was like a guardian angel had blessed me with good fortune for my persistence!"

Then, his excitement seemed to fade as he recalled what happened next. "But, as I was leaving, someone ran into me and knocked me over. I must have hit my head or something because I blacked out right after. Looks like my angel was a demon of misfortune after all."

"…Disregarding that last part." Makoto wisely decided for everyone's sake. "Hiro, did you happen to notice anything about them that you recognized?"

Sadly, Hiro shook his head. "Nah man, I was so focused on getting to bed I didn't even have time to react, much less see who it was. All I could tell you is that they were probably shorter than me."

"Huh? How could you tell? You just said that you didn't see them." Hina brought up, confused by Hiro's conflicting statement.

"Well, I mean, whoever did stab me had to have done it at a low angle, right? Otherwise, I'd have seen them coming a mile away." Hiro rationalized, surprisingly.

"I…guess that makes sense." Hina admitted with uncertainty in her tone. "So then…that means that the person that attacked Hiro was shorter then him, right? That doesn't narrow it down much, does it."

"Excluding those that are just as tall as Yasuhiro or taller, that only leaves Chihiro, Kyoko, Makoto, Hifumi, Leon, Kiyotaka, Toko, Celeste, Sayaka, and Junko. Of them, Chihiro, Kyoko, Makoto, Toko, and Sayaka, are the only ones significantly short enough to be unnoticed. Asahina has an alibi thanks to Sakura, so she couldn't be responsible, but that still leaves the rest of them." Byakuya thoroughly elaborated. It made sense in a way.

Hifumi would have been seen well before he could have gotten near, and both Leon and Kiyotaka were far too naturally loud to be missed in their bright white clothes. On the girl's side, "Junko" could have easily managed to sneak up on someone since she was the Ultimate Solider, but the platform boots of her messed with her balance and that bright wig grabbed attention very effectively. Celeste had a similar problem with her massive, drill curled hairdo.

"I-I Have nothing to d-do with this." Toko denied angrily, her finger jabbed out accusingly. "Y-You just want to b-blame me because y-you think I'm some kind of d-disgusting creature. D-Don't go l-labeling me because you're disgusted by my p-presence! I was in m-my room all night, w-writing."

"That's not the problem." Stated Kyoko, completely ignoring the unsettling commentary the Ultimate writer spouted. "We've already established that whoever it was had to be in possession of a knife or a similar sharp object. Because of that, it eliminates even more of us from the list."

"So, then…doesn't that mean someone else took another knife then? That's where we are going with this, right?" Hifumi asked Kyoko uncertainly.

"No," she denied in response. "if that were the case, then Hina would have mentioned there being other missing knives from the set. So Hina, did you see any other missing knifes?"

"No, that was the only knife that went missing…Ah!" Hina's sudden gasp echoed through the halls as she no doubt realized where Kiyoko was going with this. Along with her, the eyes of several of the others widened as well as the pieces came together in their minds.

"Well, what are you saying then?" Demanded the long since frustrated Mondo, the veins in his forehead twitching wildly as his blood boiled beneath his reddened skin. "Who the hell had a knife and was small enough to sneak up and stab Hiro!?"

I knew where she was going with this from the get go. She was leading them to the right conclusion, to the true culprit in this. Still, it was rather disturbing how easily she could steer them where ever she wanted. Junko was right to keep an eye on her.

Either way, she had pointed out the right information that they needed to piece it together, and as I expected, Makoto as the one to piece it together first.

"Sayaka…she's who you think did it…"

"…" She was silent, but she didn't need to speak. The fact that she looked right at him spoke plenty.

"I-Inconceivable!" loudly denied Taka passionately. "Did we not _just_ establish that miss Sayaka was injured and fleeing the scene? Why would she attack someone after having just failed!?"

"Perhaps, it wasn't so much a crime of intent a more so crime of circumstance. With her plan to kill the one she invited over having failed, she was likely desperate. Like a scared animal, she ran from them, no doubt afraid that she would be killed herself for her actions. But as she fled, she stumbled across another possible victim candidate."

"You're talking about me, right?" Hiro asked Byakuya, his gaze still a bit confused as to what he was going with this. I could tell, both me and a few others were a bit frustrated by his inability to keep up with what was going

Completely ignoring the hobo like seer, the prodigy continued. "…When she noticed him, she likely decided that, if she couldn't get her first target, she'd go for another."

There was logic in his words, that much I was certain. After failing to end Leon's life as she had, there was a possibility that she would go out of her way to take down someone far less…I'll be nice and just say, "physically fit". She was desperate, with nothing going for her then a busted wrist, and a bloody knife that had entered her own flesh. From an outsider perspective, that sounded perfectly sound.

And evidentially, the others were falling for it too. "So she just up and stabbed me!? What the hell did I do to deserve that!?...Don't tell me. She's not with the yakuza, is she!?"

"No, I highly doubt she would be involved in that kind of thing." Denied Hina with a shrug of disbelief at this, unable to even consider said suggestion from the urchin afroed man. To sheer idea was ludicrous in the highest order. It would have been hilarious if it wasn't so pitiful.

"Hey you never know! I've seen some people you'd never guess were involved with those guys that totally were in deep!" And yet, Hiro still insisted on it. Unbelievable.

"…Anyways." Kyoko interrupted, since it was clear Hiro would drag this on longer if someone didn't drag the trial back into focus. "If she was the one who attack Hiro, then that clearly answers the question of who the instigator is."

"Sayaka…" Makoto muttered, a depressing aura emitting from his form as his hair drooped down, covering his eyes in shadows. I felt bad for him. This whole affair was clearly weighing down on him hard, dragging his spirit to the ground.

Internally I wondered what it was like. I had dealt with well over my share of betrayals in my life, watched as my kindness and caring nature was abused by some coward who joined the crowd just because they were afraid of being subjected to the same treatment. But, I learned to ignore it, identify when they would happen again, and steal myself for the inevitable when it did happen. It still hurt, but it became lessened overtime.

However, this was on a whole other level. How did it feel to have someone betray you so thoroughly that their actions could have gotten you killed? To find out that you had essentially been nothing more than a sacrificial pawn to achieve their own selfish goal.

How would he recover from this? Will he just accept it, lash out, become a recluse? Unlikely at best, I knew that much. He was far to kind to let this hold him down for too long. Oh, he would be hurt for a while, and it's highly likely that being near the pop Idol will be an awkward affair for a while, but he'll recover from this and grow stronger from it. I know it.

With that thought in mind, I figured it was time to end this trial. Sitting up straighter in my chair I pulled myself closer to the mic to make my announcement to begin the voting process. Once that was done, I would be able to begin my plan to save Sayaka from death.

However, just as I was about to open my mouth, I was interrupted by a softly spoken question that made my blood freeze in my veins.

"But, if Sayaka was the culprit…then, who was the one who saved them?"


	14. All-star Despair

My mouth had gone dry, my pulse rising drastically as my face began to flush with heat despite the sudden chill I felt. My lips were pursed as I tried to keep from screaming out loud in a combination of frustration and distress. It wasn't enough that I'd helped them to find out who the culprit is, was it? Why I ever have expected otherwise, I had no Idea.

I had known that someone would have wanted to find out about who had gone out of their way to save their collages, it was only natural. In a setting like a game of killing, it would be idiotic not to find out who amongst you were capable of medical procedures. With food, water, social activity, and a safe place to rest their heads taken care of for them, the only thing they'd need otherwise would be someone to play doctor if things went airy.

Furthermore, of course they would want to find out who amongst them deserved praise for their heroic efforts in saving the two students lives. Who wouldn't want to?

But, of all times, why did it have to be now? The elevator wasn't even halfway down yet, so my dramatic reveal of the culprit would be completely lost on them. I would blame its slow pace on Junko's despair fetish and say it was deliberately tampered with to make people suffer from claustrophobic anxiety as they delved deeper into the ground, if it wasn't just as likely that it was simply too old to safely move faster down the shaft.

What? I couldn't blame everything on her. That'd be stupid.

Worst still, as they had still plenty of time on the clock to hold their debate, I couldn't just stop the trial and make them wait for Sayaka and the elevator to arrive. Well, I mean I _could_ , but what purpose would that serve? They would still have to wait for her anyway, and at least if they're talking would keep things interesting; for them more than me.

So, as much as I didn't want to, I was going to have to let the debate continue. If for no other reason than to prevent attracting to much suspicion by ending the trial to early.

Poor Leon wasn't doing any better than I was though, so at least I could take comfort in that. He was looking a bit shaken by the programmer's question, though I believe the others might have mistaken his stuttering voice for shock more than fear. "Wha-what do you mean? Why should that matter?"

"Um, well, if what everyone said is right, then Sayaka and Hiro would be…dead, right?" Chihiro's elaborated, though not without hesitating at the grimmer parts. Understandable really. No one here wanted to talk about something as gruesome as death.

Mondo, ever the 'sportive' one, confirmed with her. "Yeah, sounds about right. The chick did get stabbed after all. Hiro too. And we found them in the infirmary. What about it?"

"Well, doesn't that mean someone rescued them?"

"That's true!" Taka but in, his brows furrowed as he spoke to confirm with the mousy girl's theory. "If what we've been led to believe is accurate, then one of us did save them. Most likely, they found both of our comrades in the dead of the night and brought them to the infirmary. After that, they treated their injuries and left them for us to find in the morning."

Not that bad of a theory to be honest. When common decency became something to consider, it wouldn't be enough to just leave someone to bleed out in the hallway. When any murder became a concern for everyone's survival, it would make it even more prudent for people to help each other to survive. The only other option was to finish the job, and no one wanted to be responsible for that crime.

Sadly, Byakuya was there to once more remind them of the frailties of such theories in this game of ours. "But, that right there is the problem."

Taka, caught off guard by the callus remark, flinched back in response. "W-What? What's the problem with honorable comradery!?"

"Beside the fact that there would be no benefit from such an endeavor, there is a more pressing concern. May I remind you that, up until last night, the infirmary was locked off from us. So, the question is, how were they able to access it?" I didn't want to agree with Byakuya, but he had a point. Considering how I'd acted until now, there was no reason they could have come up with that would make sense for me to have opened the door for them just yet.

Celeste only seemed to add to this with her own ponderings. "Yes, that is a concern. There is also the fact that, despite what the Monokuma files state, there is a concerning lack of blood where Hiro was supposedly attacked."

"Huh? Hey, what do you mean "supposedly attacked"!?" Hiro responded, first confused, then quickly shifting to offended that she would even suggest that he had been lying about where he'd been almost killed.

Celeste, clearly ignoring his tone, answered in her false polite voice that felt to me as if she were subtly insulting him. "Is it not obvious? There is a grave concern that you do not recall who had attacked you, even though there is no reason you should have missed them. Keep in mind that the laundry room has great line of sight of the halls to the dorm rooms. I find it difficult to believe that you were unable to see anyone coming at you from the domiciles."

"Y-Yeah." Toko shakily agreed, but from her tortured expression, it was difficult to believe she fully meant most of what she said. "T-Then there's that e-excuse of your t-terrible memory. Y-You keep saying you d-don't remember a-anything from last night. H-How can we be s-sure you're telling the t-truth?"

Hiro, justifiably more upset by the accusations being leveled against him, rebutted with a loud, "Hey! What are you talking about!? If I say I can't remember, then I can't remember! I hit my head! I was probably concussed!"

To be fair, he had a point. Getting your head slammed into a wall, or door frame in this case, hard enough to cause a splatter of blood to form on the wood would cause a concussion at the very least. I may know a bit more than the basic level of first aid, but there was no telling what all kinds of damage had been done to him with the amount that I did know. Hell, he might have gotten some skull fractures or even brain damage for all I knew.

Then again, with how he acts sometimes, I wonder if he didn't already have some kind of brain trauma already.

Regardless of my opinion on Hiro's less than stellar thought processes, I let Byakuya continue to add more dirt to the hole Hiro was digging for himself. "Then there is another problem. Per the Monokuma file, your injuries were given to you around one thirty am, but nighttime went into effect at ten pm. You claimed you went to the laundry room right after night time to look for your crystal ball, but were then attacked as you left. That's a suspicious amount of time to spend just looking in such a small room."

That was… a good point honestly. I had been focused on the situation with Sayaka at the time, so I never thought to question the reasons for Hiro's rather…unusual inclusion to this case. Why had he been in there for so long anyway?

Hiro didn't seem to agree with just giving away the answers to my questions. "W-Well, that's…I was- um."

"Spit it out already!" Mondo growled, tired of this trial and the fortune teller's antics.

That seemed to motivate Hiro well enough. "O-Okay! Okay! So, I might have skipped some details. Truth is, I found my crystal ball not to long after nighttime started. It was in a pile of clothes, just sitting there in the open. I was so happy, I decided to, you know, try to see the future."

Hina was in disbelief at this, her expression more than a little telling "You spent that long in the laundry room…just to make some phony predictions?"

"Hey!" Hiro shouted in defense of his craft. "I'll have you know that some of my most accurate predictions come from when I'm in a clean room. I've gotten up to forty percent once in a freshly cleaned bathroom!"

"T-That's not very sanitary at a-all." Toko unknowingly agreed with me on this.

Hiro, either uncaring about the slight against him or ignoring it entirely, continued. "Besides that, this prediction was important! When I gazed into my crystal ball, I saw a green eyed, black bull fighting with a white bear with a red eye in a field of fire. Several dark silhouettes stood around them, yet they didn't seem to see the fires or the two animals struggling. These silhouettes were being filed with the smoke from their fight in the fire, each slowly suffocating in the miasma. Then, on the brink of death, one of the figures starts to glow and begins to-"

"No one cares about any of that!" Hina interrupted, almost causing me to cry out with a resounding, "I do!" but I repressed it in time. Credit where it's due, despite his overwhelmingly flawed personality and lacking financial management skills, Hiro knew how to grab your attention with his fortunes. Not even a good fortune, and it still caught my attention.

Kiyoko, always the one to stay on point, forced the conversation to return to the topic at hand. "Anyway, how long did it take you to make your prediction?"

Momentarily caught flatfooted by the abrupt change, Hiro took a moment to remember how the events of last night went. "Huh? Oh, well, I wanted to make sure this one was accurate, I mean it was so bizarre, so I went over it several times. I'd say I did it about…ten or twelve times, so about, I don' know, three hours or so?"

"So, that was when you decided to head for your dorm room, correct?" Celeste questioned him, one of her brows raising ever so lightly, to which Hiro nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, but as I was leaving, I was feeling really stiff and tired. So, I started stretching as I left and well, I yawned. Like, a _big_ yawn. I didn't think anyone would attack me in such an open space, so I just let it lose. Next thing I know, I'm being run over and getting stabbed in the side." Even though he seemed subdued by it, I could only palm my face at that.

Of bloody course, only he would end up getting hurt from something stupid. It was like everything that he did was predetermined to come back and bite him for no other reason than because he was mentally comparable to that of a drugged-up hobo with an addiction for phony alien 'artifacts'. I had been wondering how he had missed Sayaka running down the halls at top speed, but now that I'd heard the reason, I couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

Byakuya seemed to agree with me since he turned his head away from the fortune teller in disgust. "Tch, such incompetence."

Celeste only added to the mutual feelings of disappointment when she lightly shook her head and said, "It's to be expected of someone like him. It can't be helped."

"In any case," Sakura spoke up, her strong voice grabbing the attention of everyone with ease. "that doesn't explain who it was to save them afterward."

I couldn't decide whether to feel relived or exasperated. On the one hand, Hiro's shenanigans ate up a solid chunk of time which not only gave that blasted elevator a chance to finally get down here; seriously, why is it taking so long? It also meant that I wouldn't have to worry about them figuring out about my or Leon's involvement.

On the other hand, it would also mean that there could be a chance that, in the absence of their saviors' reveal, they might jump the gun on their vote and try something drastic. It was, admittedly, unlikely considering the abundance of levelheaded individuals here, but it was still a concern, darn it!

Strangely enough, Kyoko spook up first with a topic I didn't expect. "I believe there is another thing we need to discuss first. During the investigation, I noticed several clues had gone missing."

While I was busy scratching my head, wondering where she was going with this, Makoto seemed to have caught on to her intent rather quickly. "You're talking about the sheets of my lint roller and the bloodstain by the door, right?"

"Bloodstain? What about the bloodstain?" Hifumi asked, but his face had gone a bit pale as he spoke. Likely, it was due to the topic of a disappearing blood, more than it was the stain itself.

"When Sayaka had been cut," Makoto explained, his hand curled against his chin in his preferred thinking pose. "she left a large bloodstain on my door. That was how we figured out that she had injured herself. But, despite getting a similar wound, there wasn't any blood at the laundry room."

Celeste didn't seem to get the significance of it just yet, theorizing that, "The reason there wasn't any blood by the laundry room was because Hiro wore that heavy jacket and that haramaki. It is possible that it simply absorbed the blood on the inside. That makes sense, does it not?"

But Makoto shook his head in response, stating, "No, even with his jacket, Hiro would have lost too much blood for there not to be a stain. I believe that someone attempted to clean it up to hide that he'd been attacked."

Yeah, I hadn't thought that through all that well. At the time, I hadn't had any plans to tell the others about Hiro's stabbing. I had wanted to just have the trial to make sure that they all learned about Sayaka's betrayal on their own merits. However, Leon had insisted on cleaning up the clairvoyant's blood to avoid alerting the others, completely unaware that it was technically pointless in the long run. I wanted to tell him, I really did; but sadly, I knew there would be no way for me to be able to without having to bring up how exactly I knew about it.

Yeah, I could have shrugged it off as a guess biased on Monokuma's character, but that hardly would have convinced him. So, instead I stayed silent as he soaked up the puddle and let him go. It was the best I could do at the time, really.

Hifumi hummed in thought, his glasses flashed in the artificial lighting. "Intriguing theory, but what evidence do you have to support this?"

"It's not easy to spot, but there are small traces of blood in the framework of the laundry room." The luckster stated, his expression focused as he pulled up the picture I had taken of the bloody frame. "Also, there's a small trail of blood spots leading all the way to the infirmary. Some of them are streaked from something. Most likely, someone tried to clean them up, but they were in a hurry and missed some. I'm positive that whoever carried them to the infirmary is responsible for it."

Well, _responsible_ is a bit of a strong word. I would have said, _unintentionally responsible_ since it had been Leon dragging Hiro directly behind me that caused the blood dripping from Sayaka to streak. But, I wasn't going to tell them that.

It looked like Leon was going to concede to the luckster's point, albeit, very reluctantly. "Okay, so that means someone brought them to the infirmary and didn't think to clean it all up. Fine. But what does that matter?"

"It matters because they would have had to know that the infirmary was open in the first place. Otherwise, why would they bother going through the effort to drag them across the building?" Kyoko rationalized and subsequently made me palm my face at my own short sightedness.

Why did I even think to question how the Ultimate Detective would have figured that out?

"That would appear to be the case." Sakura stated in agreement with the detective's deduction. There was a seeming agreement from the other in her assessment, nods coming from several of them. However, it there was still the new problem this arose.

"But, who would have known about it being open?" Chihiro's question made the others go quiet, their gazes shifting from person to person as if hoping to find some kind of sign that would reveal just who it was to learn of this unusual breach in security, and why that person didn't think to tell the others.

Taka took the initiative this time to try to figure out the answer to this mystery. "Mondo, Leon, Sakura and I were the ones to try all of the doors every day to see if we could access any new areas. Surely, one of us might have learned of something before now!"

Leon immediately denied any knowledge of his involvement, stating, "Don't look at me, I only learned about it recently. Same as the rest of us."

"Yeah, same here." Mondo denied as well, his brows furrowed deeper as he glowered.

"Aye as well. So, it would appear that we are at a stalemate." The Ultimate Fighter finished for the group, and I nearly sighed in relief at their conflicted expressions. If it ended here, I would be fine with it. There wasn't any need for them to continue if there weren't any more suspects to point to. They had their blackened, the elevator was almost finished descending so there was no worry about Sayaka missing the vote if I had to start it now, and best of all, if I stopped it now then Leon and I wouldn't need to reveal our involvement.

I should have known better, because, just as I was about to open my mouth to announce the end of the trial, Kyoko apparently decided that I needed to watch a train-wreck in process. Because, the moment she opened her mouth, my heart sunk into my stomach. "Not necessarily."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hiro asked for the others as they're gazes shifted to look at the pale haired girl.

Kyoko, forever unperturbed by the sudden attention, once more forced the others to figure it out for themselves, stating, "For us to find our mysterious savior, I believe we must first discover how they were able to destroy our missing evidence."

Hina was the first one to perk up as a gleam of realization flashed in her eyes and she lightly dropped her fist into her open hand. "Ah! They must have used the trash room to get rid of it all!"

"But, that's the problem." Makoto picked up where she was going with this just as effortlessly as I would have assumed he would. "The trash room has a gate over it to prevent unauthorized access to the furnace. According to Monokuma, only the one who volunteered to be that week's janitor can open it."

Leon, seeing the opportunity to shift the blame and knowing that this could end badly for him if he didn't, jumped on the chance to pin in on the first person he could. "So then the one on trash duty is the one messing with us…Isn't that right Hifumi!"

The poor fan-content creator could only squeal in terror at the sudden accusation leveled against him. His blubbery body quivered like jelly as he became a stuttering, panicked mess. "Squee! It-it wasn't me! A fairy must have done it! I'm innocent it this!"

"No," denied Makoto with a shake of his head, his expression firm as he defended the rotund otaku from the glare of their classmate. "if it was Hifumi, he would have done a much more thorough job destroying evidence _precisely_ because he was on trash duty. The fact that Hiro could find the knife that Sayaka took proves that."

Leon stuttered, flatfooted by the quick response, he tried to recover lost ground. "W-Well, that's all well and good, but then how did they get to the incinerator then if they didn't open the gate?"

"When Hifumi and I went to check the trash room," Makoto explained as he gripped the arms of his podium lightly so that he could slightly lean himself a bit more forward. "we found the incinerator had been turned on, despite him confirming that it had been turned off the night before. When we investigated, we found shards of glass laying by the switch."

"Glass?" Hina parroted, her head cocked to one side as her hair seemingly curved like a question mark to emphasize her confusion. Mondo continued the line with a strongly worded. "What the hell was glass doing in there?"

"Originally, it was a ball." Makoto explained away the object's mystery. "Specifically, the crystal ball that Hiro was carrying."

That certainly caught Hiro's attention, especially since Makoto hadn't actually told him where he'd found his ball in the first place. I didn't need to look at his dumfounded expression to tell you that. "Wait, _that's_ where you found it!? Seriously?"

"There's also something else," Makoto continued, switching the picture on his screen for another as he spoke "we found the burnt cuff of a white shirt right next to the incinerator. On it, we found a bloody stain."

"That doesn't mean anything." Leon denied, venomously, before he took a small breath and spoke more calmly. "Most of the guys here have white shirts with cuff sleeves."

"No, by itself, it wouldn't mean much," the luckster agreed to the all-star's point, but then added, "but when you consider the distance between the gate and the switch, there's only one person I can think of that could have turned it on."

It was as good as over. I berried my face into my hands and let out a groan of pure contempt as the words left the mouth of the luckster, my frustration finally coming full circle as he inserted the first of many nails into Leon's coffin, leaving a depressing void of acceptance. There was no way that they wouldn't figure it out now that he had saved Hiro's life, there were far too many things he stupidly let slip that gave him away. It didn't matter that some of them were only brought out because of my actions, he was still the one who gave it away.

It's only a matter of time.

"Do you mean…Leon?" Chihiro, it seemed, was the first to pick up on who Makoto meant, causing the red-haired boy to choke on his own spit.

"That's exactly who I mean." Makoto confirmed, not a shred of doubt in either his voice or his stance. "Only someone like the Ultimate Baseball All-star could hit such a small target from such a distance with a ball, glass or otherwise. By that same logic, you balled up your shirt along with the used sheets of my lint roller and threw them into the incinerator too. But, as a result, a telltale scrap of your shirt escaped."

"Hey, wait a minute!"

But alas, Celeste would not wait for the baseball pro. She had her own observation to give on his actions. "Actually, now that you mention it, it was quite suspicious that Leon was the one to suggest that Sayaka was the one to injure herself. How would he have even known to suggest such a thing had he not seen such actions himself?"

"W-Well, I-" Leon stuttered as he attempted to gain some traction. Sadly, there was not going to be any mercy for his failure.

"There's also his actions when Junko's punishment was interrupted." Byakuya held no remorse for the sad little punk wannabe as he gave that smug little smirk of his that infuriated even the saintliest of people. "He seemed quite familiar with the location of everything needed to save her life. Suspiciously familiar, considering that we had never been in the infirmary before today."

Poor Leon had no ground to hold as he desperately tried to get a word in edgewise. "C-Come on, guys. Anyone could have-"

Kiyoko interrupted next, her expression as neutral as her tone, but it might as well have been as frigid as the north pole to the fiery headed teen. "There is also the issue of Sayaka's would-be victim. Aside from Makoto, you were the only one to actively have a reason to seek her attention. You've stated several times how much you desire to become a musician, and Sayaka is the only one here that knows what that would intel."

"Anyone would have fallen for that! It's just a bunch of coincidences!" Leon was getting desperate; his face was getting pale and his eyes were shifting from each of them as sweat poured down his clammy skin. It was like looking at a cornered animal before a pack of predators. The constant lashing of accusations was biting at his defenses that he had been building up all the last night and day while his fatigue from missing out on so much of his necessary sleep weakened the foundations of his psyche even further and leaving him a nervous wreck of a man. It wouldn't be long now before he snaps back.

"No. If was just one or two things we could have written it off as such, but not when there are so many altogether." Makoto, innocent, kindhearted, sweet Makoto. He wasn't so sweet right now as he dropped the last straw that would break the poor boy, forcing Leon to instinctually try to fight back against these animals in human skin.

"Shut up! Okay look, so what if I knew my way around the infirmary? That's not a crime, is it? I played Baseball and sometimes there are accidents. I've seen _dozens_ of infirmaries nationwide. They all start to blend together after a while; they're almost all the same! The thing about guessing about Sayaka's injury was just that. A. _Guess_. If it turned out to be the case, then that just means I got lucky! And being Sayaka's target? Any dude here could have fallen for that! I mean, she's the Ultimate Pop-Sensation!"

"I'm guessing you're going to deny destroying evidence too then." Byakuya stated more then asked the fuming all-star.

Either unaware of what he was doing or just not caring about the repercussions, Leon continued to rant. "Hell yeah I'm going to deny it! What reason would I have to hide anything!? If I was invited over only to get attacked, why would I bother trying to hide it by destroying evidence? If anything, I'd have told everyone the second I could! Monokuma said it himself, if we pin this on the wrong guy, then we're screwed! No one would risk their life to hide the culprit if it meant everyone getting axed for it. This is all just circumstantial evidence! Besides, you already said it yourself. No one here knew about the infirmary being unlocked, none of us! So, if you're so smart, you tell us why I would even consider going anywhere near it!"

And there it was, the fires of a man with nothing to gain as he desperately grasped at straws to gain ground against these demons that tried to keep him down. His face had turned a hellish red as his blood boiled beneath the surface as he panted heavily from exertion. His teeth grinding as he held up both of his shaking fists as if clutching the metaphorical chain of allegations that they were trying to tie him down. No matter the outcome, it was clear that he wouldn't back down without putting up a fight.

In all honesty, it was a losing battle. If he had wanted to convince them of his involvement being none in the slightest, he would have to be able to outwit the Ultimate Detective, not to mention the others as well. There wasn't a snowballs chance in Hades of him convincing them with his level of intelligence, especially with his frustrations currently blinding him.

"…" Kyoko was surprisingly silent in the face of his rage, her gaze unflinching at his fuming tantrum where some of the others had backed away in shock. Her purple eyes stared steady into his wild gaze, as if searching for something, though what that was, I couldn't tell you.

"What, got nothing to say now?" Leon barked more then said, his sneer still in place but his breathing was starting to calm.

Kyoko said nothing for a while, as stoic as a statue as she gazed at him. Were it not for the subtle movements of her chest and occasional blinking, I could have mistaken her for one for how little she moved. Finally, as Leon started to calm down, she asked him, "…Are you finished?"

"…Huh?" He replied, his rage momentarily replaced with confusion at the question she posed to him. It seemed that was all she needed though, as she turned away from him.

"Good, because there is a logical explanation for why you would have taken them to the infirmary."

And just like that, the fire in him was reignited. "W-What!? Bull! What explanation!?"

Once more, the others flinched back at his outburst, but she was unaffected by his fury, her gaze stern as she all but slammed him with the next nail for his coffin. "Simple, you may not have known about the infirmary…but someone else might have."

"Gak!" Just like that, he lost his ground, his flinch back telling more than his mouth could preach to the onlookers. As if a spell had been lifted, the others came out from the silence that had entranced them during the last few minutes.

Toko was the first one to speak, her eyes wide at the new possibility the equally purple themed girl proclaimed "S-Someone already knew about the infirmary being unlocked?"

"Who was it! Please, speak up!" politely demanded Kiyotaka as he glanced from person to person, silently demanding the proper party explain themselves.

Leon was quick to recover, denying it with a sharp shake of his head as he slammed his fists down on the podium. "No! Shut up! She's crazy! No one could have known about it!"

"On the contrary." Kyoko stated with conviction, turning back to look him in the eyes once more. "You've already proved it was possible, indirectly."

That certainly caught Leon off guard, his eyes widening in disbelief, practically stumbling over his words, "H-Huh? The hell are you talking about?"

But, it would appear that Kyoko was done holding the torch by herself as she instead turned to give the luckster a turn. "Makoto, when you went to the infirmary, did you happen to notice something peculiar?"

Makoto, to his continued credit, picked up on what she was asking nearly immediately. "You're talking about the hand prints on Hiro's jacket, right?"

"Correct." She confirmed with eyes closed in thought. "When I was changing Sayaka and Hiro's bandages earlier, I noticed an inconsistency between them."

"Inconsistency? The hell are you talking about?"

Makoto jumped in to answer the Biker's question himself. "I think I know. When I went to check up on them, I noticed that there were golden handprints all over the collar of Hiro's jacket. Most likely, from whoever it was that Sayaka tricked into going to my room since their handprints would have still had to be covered in the gold from the hilt of the sword. However, none of Sayaka's clothes had any prints at all."

"Even if we discount the idea that Leon was the one Sayaka lured in, there would be no reason for her clothes to be spotless if she was saved by the same person." Kyoko finished for him, but I noticed there seemed to be a sort of gleam flash within her eyes. It was gone so quickly I wasn't sure if I'd imagined it or if it was a trick of the camera, but I was intrigued now.

"W-Well, couldn't they have j-just washed their hands, t-then come back for her?" It didn't feel like Toko was all that sure of what she was proposing, as if she knew it was flawed, but wanted to throw it out there to feel more included. That was my theory any way. However, it made a small amount of sense. There had been nothing to prevent me and Leon from washing our hands in the infirmary for our impromptu surgery so there was no reason to think that-

"Not possible!" Taka immediately shot that theory down, his sudden shout catching me off guard and leaving me confused. "Per the school regulations, the water is turned off during nighttime hours! Any attempt would be met with nothing!"

Toko was noticeably cowed by that. "O-Oh, I didn't know about the water. I-I haven't t-taken a shower since we got here, s-so I didn't think t-to about that."

'Hang on, what? But if that was the case, then why were we still able to…' and just like that, I felt like an idiot. I was the one who had to turn off the water every night and back on in the morning. But, I had been so focused on the situation with Sayaka, that I had neglected my duties as headmaster and left the water running. It was only when I had gone to bed that I had turned the water off absentmindedly. 'That's going to come back to bite me somehow. I don't know how, I don't know when, but I know it will.'

"Haven't taken- _Oh, my_ …" Hifumi's next comment certainly didn't help my mood. Though Toko's angry flustered face did a bit.

Possibly in an attempt to keep the mortified girl from attempting to murder the otaku in righteous fury, Makoto was quick to get things back on track. "A-Anyway, Sayaka had been cut long before Hiro, and with a much larger wound. She would have lost far too much blood before they could have dragged Hiro to the infirmary and come back for her. Even if they waited to treat Hiro's wounds until they came back, Sayaka would have bled out before they could do anything to save her. I don't think she would have survived if there was only one person there."

"So, unless there had been more than one rescuer…" Sakura started, her eyes closed as realization was felt by all, while Mondo finished for her as he looked away in anger.

"…We'd be having a really different trial right now…Fuck." It was depressing, the mood the of others dropping as they realized exactly what that meant. Hina, Chihiro, and Taka looked the most forlorn, with the programmer even burying her face in her hands and the moral committee chair trying to ignore the small tears poking at the edge of his vision. But that didn't mean the others weren't upset as well. Even if they hid it well, they each had their own long face. Only Byakuya seemed outwardly indifferent as he turned away with a scoff, but that slight tattle-tell of a hand of his gave him away as he all but ruined his suit sleeves with his stony grip.

One look at the others was all it took for Leon to decide that it was time to address the issue, though his voice was much more subdued now. "Okay, that cleared up the fact that there had two be two people involved. Fine. I'll let that pass. But how does that prove that they knew the door would be unlocked? I mean, doesn't that prove that maybe they just, I don't know, guessed that it was unlocked?"

Kyoko naturally didn't agree with the weak excuse. "On the contrary, it proves it even more."

"How do you figure?"

Byakuya took the floor next, his glare of superiority on full display. "Isn't it obvious? If it weren't then they would have made the entire trip a fruitless endeavor. Unless they were trying to dispose of both victims, moving them to a locked room would have been pointless. Cooperation to rescue those two would have been impossible unless one of their rescuers would have had informed the other of the door being open in the first place. Otherwise, there wouldn't be that other piece of evidence."

That sure got Leon's attention, and it made him nervous. "W-What other piece of evidence?"

"You're talking about the bloody hoody we found in the laundry room, aren't you?" Makoto asked and immediately I wanted to wring that little neck of his. Oh, not Makoto's, he was fine. But I didn't want that jerk-wad Byakuya touching my stuff until he choked down some humble pie!

'…Where the heck did that thought come from?'

"Hmph, naturally." Byakuya smirked, and suddenly I realized where the dark thought came from. I didn't like him. Not in the slightest.

"Wait a minute," Hiro finally spoke up, a completely lost look on his face. Not surprising for him since he hadn't even heard of it before now. "what are you talking about? What hoody?"

Chihiro was the one to answer that one, since Leon looked like he'd swallowed his tongue in his shock. "When we were checking out the laundry room, we found a blue hoody in one of the washers. When we pulled it out, we found the ends of the sleeves and the front covered in blood."

Makoto picked up from there. "Most likely, one of the two who saved Sayaka and Hiro had been wearing it when they carried them to the infirmary. Specifically, when they carried Sayaka."

"The blood on the sleeves most likely came from when they were operating on them." Kyoko chimed in with her own theory, a thoughtful expression on her as she deduced the reason for the exitance of such evidence with ease. "That would also explain why the piece of the shirt Makoto found was blooded as well."

Byakuya apparently wasn't done interjecting either, because he added, "It should also be noted that, splattered on the same hoody was a fair amount of laundry detergent. It was mostly unnoticeable since the standard detergent in the laundry room is the same color, but even an incompetent child would notice the scent."

"So, maybe they tried to clean all the blood off with the washer, but they forgot about the water being turned off at night time." Hina's summery of my idiocy was only drowned out by my head meeting the desk with a dull, "Thunk." I knew that would come back to bite me.

"Precisely." Kyoko confirmed to my further dismay. "This further proves that there had been an accomplice."

"How so?" Mondo asked, thankfully hadn't caught on yet. Sadly, I knew it wouldn't be for long with those three on the case.

To my continued apprehension, Makoto would be the one to prove me right on that. "When Leon went to hide his involvement, he used the trash room's incinerator to burn his shirt. But this hoody was found in the laundry room covered in soup. If it was Leon's, there would be no reason for us to find it the washer."

Kyoko had apparently decided that was enough, turning to the all-star with her steely gaze, she asked him once more. "Well, Leon? How about it? Who was it who told you about the infirmary?"

"W-well, uh…" Leon wasn't looking to good right now. His gaze was shaky, darting about wildly almost as if he was barely able to concentrate on what was going on around him, and his legs were quivering in his stand. His face was turning a disturbing shade of red and purple, as if his own blood was unable to decide if it wanted to heat up or freeze over leaving the top half violet and the base a deep crimson. The stress was getting to him in a way he could no longer fight.

He'd already tried rage, he tried what logic he could, now he had nothing to fight with.

Just as I was writing off and chances of getting out of this without being revealed, Hifumi started speaking. "Hey, um, not to argue with the prosecution, but I have a question. Could it be that, Leon used his toolkit to force the lock?"

Leon started to raise his head, as if feeling a bit of hope in the idea, but Taka ruthlessly stomped it down. "It's not possible. As previously stated, all the doors are equipped with an alarm! If someone tried to force the lock, then Monokuma would have stopped them!"

I hated to add to the breaking of what was left of his spirit, but I had to play the roll I'd been forced into. So, I sucked in a breath of air, and with a heartbroken expression that would remain unseen, by them I said, "That's right. And you can bet your buts that I would have been very upset if someone broke one of the dorm room doors."

That had been all I intended to say, but then Kyoko spoke up. "Hold on. Just the "dorm room doors"?"

My eye's shot open as realization stuck, and a small twisted smile crossed my face. I could use this. Maybe not right now, but this could come in handy. "Yeah, about that. Only the doors leading to the dorms, the dining hall, the trash room, and the doors to certain specific rooms that you don't currently have access to have an alarm built in. Theoretically, one _could_ break the door open with their toolkit. _However_ , doing so would be incredibly unwise. None of you have any lock-smith knowledge to speak of, so busting the lock would be extremely noticeable. Even just pulling out the screws and replacing them afterward will mess with doors ability to operate properly. So, I ask, did any of you have issue with the door today?"

Ever the one to trust to learn of such things, Taka reported, "No, no one reported any such issue."

"And you wouldn't have." I stated back, feeling a little smug. "Since the door hadn't been locked for a while, they wouldn't have had to bust it open."

"Wait, then why was the door unlocked then?" Makoto asked the question on all of their minds as they all turned to look at Monokuma, expecting me to tell them the answer. Their gazes firmly fixed on the plushy as if trying to intimidate the key to the mystery out of its mouth with their group stare.

"…" Hah! As if I would fall for such tactics. My lips were sealed.

Unaware of my resolve, Mondo decided that he was tired of waiting. "Well? Spit it out already!"

I wasn't about to let him tell me what to do, I wasn't the kind to care about threats. So instead, "…I plead the fifth."

I don't think that it needed to be said that, Byakuya wasn't pleased by that. "All of this and you still refuse to tell the truth. Fine, there's only one question left to answer anyway. I see no need for your input anymore."

'Like I was going to give it, you floozy!' I don't care that I was smug, I don't care if it was petty or childish, I still got to piss him off. That was amazingly fun.

"Makoto. Would you please run through the events of last night from the beginning one more time?" Kyoko requested, just as done with this trial as I was. And just like a loyal puppy wanting to please his master, the luckster began the closing argument.

Makoto was on point for the story, as expected. His memory of the case working with his smarts, he summarized the entire thing easily. From Sayaka's events setting up what was her attempt to murder Leon, to his act of self-defense against her. He transitioned seamlessly into how she had gotten injured, her literal run in with the door, and how she'd escaped. He mentioned the fear she'd held as she rushed down the hall, though it was but a footnote to the case of Hiro's actions leading to her eventually stabbing him.

Then he moved on to my actions, though he didn't have a name to give me he made do with it by playing the pronoun game. He told how I'd convinced Leon to help me drag the two to the infirmary, though he mentioned that he wasn't quite sure how I knew it was open. He brushed over how we had saved the two of them, obviously not understanding the entire process but he made up for it with mention of how Leon messed up and forgot about the handprints on Hiro's jacket.

Then he turned to the aftermath, where he told them about Leon cleaning up the hair in the crime scene, and how he tried to eliminate the evidence by using the glass ball and the incinerator in the trash room to burn it. He then added who I had gone separate around that time and tried to wash the Hoodie in the laundry room, all while forgetting about the water shut off during the night. Eventually, concluding in "And that's the entire situation of what happened, Leon Kuwata!"

"…D-damn it…" the redheaded ball player muttered, looking absolutely drained.

Makoto spoke again, his voice much calmer now that the important facts had been laid to rest, and he tried to entice the answer to the last mystery out of, "Leon. Why won't you tell us who was with you last night?"

"…" I felt so much pity for Leon right now. He looked ready to pass out, his gaze unfocused as he stood there with a broken expression, his eyes glassy. The color had drained from his face; he was swaying in place and only held up by his weekend arms. It looked like all it would take to knock him over would be a stiff breeze.

Ever the tactless one, Taka pushed forth. "Mister Kuwata! Please inform us of who it was who helped you save Miss Maizono and mister Hagakure!"

Leon was broken now. There was no reason to believe otherwise. He was going sing like a canary, tell them of how I, Junko, had gone and saved the Popstar and the Seer, and how together we worked to hide that. How we had gone out of our way to stop a murder from happening. It was only a matter of-

"…I promised."

It had been so quite that I almost missed it. Chihiro caught it though, "…Leon?"

The red head spoke up again, a little louder though. "I promised…not to tell anyone."

"Promised…?" Mondo repeated, the most effected by the word out of the class, but I was stunned silent by what he was saying. 'Is he actually going to…?'

Makoto voiced the question on the others mind once more, asking the all-star, "Your talking about the person who helped you, aren't you?"

It was silent for a while, much longer then I'd thought it would considering the number of loudmouths in the room, but for once the others stayed quiet. I'm not sure if it was out of sympathy for his state of mind from how much of a struggle it was for him to even admit this much or if it was because they had just realized that pushing him to far right now risked him shutting them out, but whatever their reasons, they stayed silent. Eventually, Leon gathered the strength he needed to confirm their suspicions. "…Yeah…I told them that…I swore…I wouldn't tell anyone that they had helped me save them last night."

"Huh? Why would you promise something like that?" Hina clearly didn't understand the ramifications of what this oath he had given me would be.

Sakura agreed with her, saying, "Indeed. I do not see the logic in keeping such information concealed." Though, I wasn't sure if it was because she honesty didn't understand, or if she was agreeing to make Hina feel better. Even when I considered her honorable personality, I just couldn't decide which way she was going with this.

"They said it was to keep themselves safe from…from being targeted." Leon's teeth and fists clenched again near the end of that little admission, as did my own. This ignoramus was going to blow everything at this rate!

Mondo clearly didn't understand where he was going with this. "The fuck? How the hell would telling us about them put a target on their back?"

"Is it not obvious." Celeste asked him in return, her condescending tone biting at his temper. "Since this game of mutual killing requires that someone dies, naturally a person that can prevent it would be an undesirable, both to the mastermind and to the players."

Leon grimly nodded along, "Yeah…that's what they said too. They didn't want Monokuma to know about any of that stuff, so they asked me to stay silent."

Maybe it was my frayed nerves talking, or my Monokuma persona, but I couldn't help but want to spite those words of his; consequences be damned! "Whelp, too bad for them then! I already knew long before the night even came close to finishing! Sad to say, they really should have thought to avoid doing that blabbing in front of the camera, huh!"

"So, you knew who had saved them from the very beginning." Kyoko caught on immediately to what I'd meant, as usual.

"Yep." I confirmed, but now, it was time to end this farce. "But, um, well, I can't help but wonder, does this even really matter?"

That quip was something most of them didn't seem to expect from me, if I judged solely by the number of raised brows I was finding. Clearly, only a couple of them got what I meant by that, the prodigy and the detective closing their eyes as they turned their gazes away from the group being my supporting evidence. They could see the argument I was making and conceded.

Hina glared at me, not a shred of understanding in her eyes as her ponytail strangely decided to sharpen as if it was feeling as agitated as she was. "What are you saying? Of course, it matters!"

"Yeah, uh huh, sure." I interrupted with a raised paw lazily waving around as unconcerned as I sounded. "Maybe for you guys, but I meant in regards to the trial."

"Huh?" Hina asked back, her shoulders falling as rage gave way for confusion. She wasn't the only one, the teller, programmer, luckster, fighter, otaku, and writer joined her in the bewildered expressions as they glanced from Monokuma and each other. In their befuddlement, they missed the looks of realization in the gazes of gambler, moral, and biker which then gave way to frustration in the latter's case. They were not able to question me about it though, as I started to explain without their prompting.

"Well, if you recall, I called for this trial to find out the instigator behind last night's conflict. As far as this debate is concerned, you only need to vote for who it was who attempted to become blackened. So, as entertaining as the questions about "who saved the day for those two students?" is, the fact of the matter is that I never said anything about finding that out should say a lot about what I feel about this situation."

Sakura was the first one to understand my meaning. "He is unfortunately correct. Our investigations were to find the instigator of the crimes that took place last night. We shall have to find Maizono and Hiro's rescuer later."

It wasn't something that any of them wanted to do, they had already spent so much time on this and were basically being told that their efforts were pointless in the end. No doubts in the slightest that it infuriated them all. Unfortunately, for them at least, I had a point that they couldn't ignore. If they didn't stop focusing on this and go back to the topic that mattered, there was no grantee that things would work out for the best.

To my surprise, Celeste decided to jump in with a question that I had been wondering about myself. "Before that, there's still one thing I wish to find out. Leon, why did you save Sayaka?"

"Yes, I was wondering the same thing myself." Byakuya interjected, his head tilted back slightly in that look of disrespectful superiority for all he saw as beneath him that pissed off anyone who looked at it. "Considering our current positions in this killing game, there would be no reason to save her life."

That statement had been horrifying to hear for them, to so casually call this a game and to mention saving someone as pointless. That was going too far for them, Chihiro especially was upset by that callus remark. "H-How can you say something so… _horrible_?"

"This is a person's life we're talking about here." Added Hina, her hands covering her mouth in horror as she stared at the prodigy with a look filled with nothing short of disgust for the affluent progeny and his opinion on this situation. She clearly never had to deal with someone like this, a person in such a standing that the simple idea of life being as expendable as a pawn in a chess game was an easy decision to make for them. It was not a kind of thought process they could comprehend, having lived a relatively common life where they were taught that all life was precious and should be treasured.

However, it was all but ignored, only warranting a passing glance from Byakuya at best. "Oh? Well, there's more that needs asking. On top of this game we're being coerced into playing, Sayaka attacked Leon with nothing short of the desire to see him die. Why then would you of all people go out of your way to save the life of the person who tried to murder you in cold blood?"

Leon was left speechless by Byakuya's harsh tone and his dark accusations, not having expected the heir to confront him on his choice to save rather than harm. Not that I blame him, it's not often that you're asked why you _didn't_ kill someone. "…It…it's because…because…"

* * *

'Why did I save her…?' the thought had bothered him for a while, ever since he had gone to bed that night, he had wondered the same thing repeatedly. It was as Byakuya said, Sayaka had tried to kill him last night, there was no way around that. Anyone would have been at least a little vindicated and tried to take revenge on her for trying to take their life, he'd be lying if he said the thought hadn't crossed his mind at one point during all the crazy events. So, why hadn't he gone through with it?

Fear.

'That's right.' His expression fell as the memory surfaced once more. The look on her face as she clutched the knife as she tried to kill him, to the raw terror in her eyes when he attempted to approach her after she had collided with the door and injured herself. The way her voice had cracked as she screamed at him, first with bloody intent but then with nothing short of anguish. But the worst part had been when he saw her tears start flowing down her face, blurring her vision and making his heart ache at the sight of it. 'She was so scared.'

And when she had run, he chased after her. He did want his vengeance at first, he wouldn't deny that, but he also wanted to keep her from hurting anyone else. The dread he'd felt when he had walked up on the sight of her and Hiro unconscious on the ground, the knife buried in the clairvoyant's side, it had nearly made him feel sick to his stomach. He hadn't failed to stop her attack on himself, but because he couldn't stop her from retrieving the knife, she had managed to almost claim a different victim. In that brief moment, her had wondered, would it have been better to have just let her kill him instead of all this.

Through the haze of the depression, Junko had come and snapped him out of it, forcefully having him help her to save, not just Hiro, but Sayaka too. And later, after they had worked to clean up evidence, he had time to think about why he had gone through all the effort to hide what had happened. Why he had gone through the trouble of pretending that he hadn't been involved.

'That's right. She reminded me…'

* * *

"Well, it appears that he's not talking then." I stated after a while of waiting for Leon to speak up, even if it was something I'd have liked to learn about myself. Seeing him looking so lost, I decided that it could wait until there was a chance I could ask him face to face. "Well, it doesn't matter in the end. Whatever his reasons, pity, remorse, maybe a sick crush, what matters is that he did help to save them. Even if it's a stupid idea to let them live, it isn't important to the vote."

The others looked grim at that, already knowing that I was right, even if they didn't want to admit it. They had to pick the Pop-idol out as the one that had started this insanity and move on. Since Leon had given up on talking, that was there only option left right now.

Kyoko, however, didn't agree. "…Before we finish, I would like to ask you something."

As she was looking straight at me as she said this, I knew she was referring to me. I don't know why, I'd given them all I planned to, and I would have assumed they'd have taken the hint and moved on with the case. Clearly, I was wrong on that idea.

However, I didn't have anything to lose just yet. My involvement was going to be revealed soon anyway. So, why not humor her. "Sure."

"Earlier, you told us that, "if no one can come up with an idea of how to progress, we can all vote to request a hint". If we used one of the hints, would you tell us who the hoodie belongs too?" Huh?

"Well, in a way I would, I guess." I sort of confirmed, but I wasn't sure where she was going with this. "Like I said, they'll be rather vague and you might not like what you here. It _is_ just a hint after all. But, why would you want to waste one of your hints on this? You've all pretty much decided on who the instigator was from what I've heard so far. Why use an important advantage on something so frivolous?"

It didn't make sense in the long run. I had given them the hint system to help them find the blackened amongst them in the off chance that all logic failed to point at any specific individual. That had happened during the second game and it was only though the guilty party's own partial admission to their crime did the group manage to pin the crime on the right person. That part had driven me up the wall trying to figure it all out, but it all worked out in the end.

However, that didn't mean that others would own up to their mistake and it could lead to the entire case falling on its face. It was especially true since I was an outside element that they wouldn't be able to account for. If I failed to save someone, then my actions might screw them over by mistake. With Kyoko, Byakuya, and Makoto on hand it wasn't likely, but the possibility was still there!

I couldn't let them have infinite hints though, that would compromise everything if they decided to exploit my system to get the correct results every time. If that happened, then there would be no risk and that would just raise all kinds of red flags to viewers in the outside world. If that happened, then there wouldn't be anything I could do to stop the Ultimate Despair from reacting poorly; at the minimum.

I had to limit them to protect them, as backwards as that sounded.

It would seem that I had a few who shared my view on this, as the more cautious of them were looking nervous at their only hints being used up like that. It was Hifumi to address this, "U-Um, not to say this isn't really important to learn about, but should we really use our assets so quickly?"

"We shouldn't waste our only advantage so carelessly." Celeste stated, her finger absentmindedly twirling one of her hair drills as she spoke. "it wouldn't be wise to waste our best chances at finding a culprit in the future."

"It's fine" Kyoko replied, to my frustration. "It will work out in the end."

To my dismay, that seemed to be enough to lighten up the moods of the worriers, if only a little bit, but it was enough. None of them were arguing against the decision, even as they were shifting in their spots. Celeste seemed to decide to be the groups spokesperson, "Very well, Monokuma, if you would."

I didn't like where this was going, but I had to uphold my word. With a deep sigh, I had Monokuma reach over and flipped over the "A" sign for a "B" sign that was underneath it. "If you're all sure…"

I waited for any rebuttals, there wasn't any, regrettably. So, with a sigh, I decided to just go with it. "…Yes, the person who owns the hoodie was the one who knew about the door being open. They came to me with a request I couldn't refuse."

"Interesting." Interjected Byakuya, looking the part of the interested individual instead of being sarcastic for once. "And what perchance would be something that not even you of all people could pass up?"

I was going to tell him to take that attitude of his and shove it, but I was cut off by the soft words, "…Murder."

All eyes were drawn to Leon, his head down as he slouched over in his stand. His fists were clenched hard enough that I was almost surprised that he hadn't cut into his palms with his fingernails, and while I couldn't see his eyes, I was certain that they were clenched just as tightly. His voice was noticeably strained as he continued, "They promised him that there would be a murder if they open the infirmary early."

"They promised…t-they would murder someone?" asked the horrified swimmer girl, easily voicing the thoughts of the others as they mirrored her expression in their own way. Not even Celeste could sustain her poker face come that bomb shell. That wasn't something that you casually promise to a murder happy, sadistic bear mascot. Or anyone else for that matter.

"Yes, that appears to be the case." Sakura confirmed with her expression stormy as she glared at nothing in particular.

"W-who would promise something like that?" Chihiro muttered, terrified of what kind of person that would guarantee something so horrible. But, before anyone could say anything, there was an interruption.

"BEEP!" The sudden noise startled them, Hiro nearly fell out of his chair from how hard he'd jumped. "W-What the heck was that!?"

But I only smiled. It was about damn time the elevator got down here. "Oh, that's time everyone! The debate is over! It's time to decide on who done it!"

"Wait, already?" Asked Makoto in disbelief, to which I replied, "Yes, already! It has been well over three hours since the debate began, so the time to wrap up this trial is now! I gave you more than enough time as is."

"But we still haven't figured out who saved Sayaka and Hiro!" interjected Hina, to which several of the others either nodded or voiced their agreement. However, I was having none of it!

"Oh, well, too bad. Figure it out on your own time!" I stated, not even the slightest bit apologetic. With the press of a switch, a small board with a lever on the side rose from in front of each of the podiums. On each was a series of buttons arranged in a circle with each of the student's digital portrait on their correspondent position; my own excluded, obviously. "So! If you'll direct your attention to the device in front of you, you will find you're voting station. Press your switch to vote for the one you think was the blackened, folks, and make sure you remember to do so. You wouldn't want to be punished for something as stupid as failing to vote. Who will be found Guilty!? Will your vote be correct, or will it be dreadfully wrong!? What's it gonna be, what's it gonna be!?"

They had no words as they reluctantly complied, their gazes stony as they used their little voting apparatus to point out the investigator amongst them. Everyone was silent as they voted, hesitating momentarily to glance at each other warily. Hifumi pulled at his tie as if it had tightened suddenly and he continued to mess with it. Toko had taken to biting at her fingernails on one hand as the other mercilessly strangled one of her braids. Hina and Chihiro had run out of tears and simply stared at their only sources of strength. But where Sakura was gazing back at the swimmer with a reluctant nod as she cast her vote, Leon refused to raise his head as he pulled his switch with a shaky grip and returned to staring at the checkered pattern tile. Both Mondo and Taka briefly glanced at each other, as if expecting the other to speak up against this, but when neither said anything they turned back to their vote with grit teeth. Only Celeste, Byakuya, and Kyoko cast their votes without any preamble, but the fact that they kept their eyes closed the entire time after didn't escape my notice.

Finally, the last of the students, Makoto, cast his vote. The entire time, his eyes didn't stray from Monokuma's, his glare as frigid as a snowman in the frozen tundra. Once he did, the center of the room opened and out from in popped up a slot machine of some kind. Mondo's dumfounded, "Oi, the hell is this?" went unanswered.

In addition to the fact that there were three of them facing towards the students, it was gold and decorated with all sorts of exotic flowers, though I think that they were plastic. But the most interesting feature it boasted was, instead of the normal cherries, bells, and lucky 7s, the reals had chibi headshots of each student. Immediately, they started rolling while the stock sound of a drumroll sung out from them. Round and round they rolled, the faces blurring together as it spun. Eventually, it slowed to a halt, all three locked with Sayaka's portrait.

The "Voting lottery", as I so attentively noted was plastered on top of the dang things, rung out with a loud, "Cha-ching!" before the entire thing lit up as cheers and whistles sang to the glowing " **GUILTY!** " sign. Tons of mono-tokens poured out of the slots, but there was no rush to collect them like you would see from a normal casino. Instead, their gazes dropped at the confirmation of their theories. They could no longer deny her guilt.

I certainly didn't help rise the mood when I interrupted in my "happy" tone. "Ya nailed it! This time around, the instigator of this case of attempted framing of Makoto for the murder of Leon is, Sayaka Maizono! Give up some applause for our lovely contestants for sleuthing her out!"

"Sayaka…" Makoto muttered, heartbroken at the confirmation that his closest friend was the one who betrayed them all. "it really was her…"

Hina looked ready to break down sobbing, her hand over her mouth as she forcibly held back her sobs. "H-How horrible. She…"

"Damn it to fucking hell!" angrily interrupted Mondo, slamming his fist on the arm of his stand and startling everyone out of their depressing state. "Why would she do that such a thing?"

Sakura was one of the most effected, actually looking rather scary with a deep-set glare as she whispered, "Sayaka..."

I hated that I had to keep acting like the complete ass-hat right now, right when they needed kind words instead of snarky commentary. But, I slapped on a sadistic grin despite my wishes. "Hmm? What's with all the sad faces? Come on, cheer up! A criminal has been found out, no one's dead yet, and you all get to continue your life of mutual living for another day. I'd say you guys got off easy from where I'm standing."

Obviously, there were no agreements coming from them. They would live to see another day, but the cost was greater than what some of them were willing to spend. It didn't help that I was driving the point into the ground. "I mean, yeah, all things considered you've all been played for like a bunch of saps by miss Sayaka, but really, what did you expect from someone in such a cut-throat industry anyway? I tell ya, the things she's gotten into in her life…yuk. Makes you wonder who the real Sayaka Maizono even was. I mean, have you heard the rumors of back ally deals, controversy, sabotage both with and without intent? And that's just the tip of this Titanic sinking iceberg…of course, none of it could be proven in a court of law, so what do I know!? Point is, you found her out. Congratulations!"

Let it be known that I don't like being glared at, if it wasn't obvious already. It creates feeling that I'm being attacked by a person's temper for no other reason then I messed up a little. It was worst when I knew I deserved it. The guilt hurt me a lot internally, but I just kept on smiling and pretending that it didn't affect me, only to rant and rave in the privacy of my home later. Then, I could rationalize my thoughts later.

"…Shut up…"

I had been so focused on my admittedly unhealthy habits that I had almost missed Makoto's words. "Huh? You say something?"

He was quick to pick back up, his glare full of anger with tears at the edge of his vision that could either be from rage or sadness. "I said, shut up. I'm not going to blame Sayaka for what she tried to do. This wasn't her fault. Ever since middle school, everyone loved her. She became the idol of millions, and then suddenly you locked her up in here, showed her that video, scared her…pushed her over the edge."

His voice had slowly risen with every word, his anger on par with what I'd associate with Mondo above all the others. Speaking of which, during his rant I took a glance at the others to see their reactions to these events. Some of them seemed to have snapped out of their funk somewhat at his words, raising their heads up as they heard his words about how Sayaka had been; Leon especially surprised me considering how he must have felt about her right now. Some looked conflicted, as if they couldn't decide if what he was saying was biased or not seeing as they had come from the same middle school, though she had betrayed him in the end. Others like Hifumi seemed to focus more on the fact that he was badmouthing someone that could have him ended in a second and were shaking in their shoes. Then there were those who were trying to pretend that they weren't interested, like Byakuya, but their wandering eyes betrayed their interest.

As he spoke, he moved away from his stand, slowly walking around the others. I decided to meet him on the way, having Monokuma step off the stand and pass behind Aoi and Mondo, stopping just before Kyoko as he started to step faster. "Everything…every single thing…happened because of you!"

With his mighty roar, he leapt at the bear, putting all the rage he'd built up, all the hate he felt for what had happened, all the pain they had endured so far. It was clear that he had no reservations about what he was about to do. With a fire in his eyes that wouldn't be quenched, he drove that fist straight at the monster in plushy form.

Only to find his arm halted mid swing by a stronger grip.

Bewildered by the sudden inability to hit me, Makoto turned to see the source of his halted assault on robo-plush. "Huh? Kyoko…?"

"I wouldn't, if I were you." Kyoko answered his unspoken question of why would she stop him, her hand never leaving his arm as she spoke in that calm, careful tone. "At least, not if you truly wish to help her."

He looked reluctant, his eyes flicking over to the Monokuma as his glare faded, but he let her pull him back from the bear. I resisted the urge to sigh as he stepped back. That would have been messy had he hit, but just as I expected, Kyoko intervened to keep the luckster from getting himself killed. I couldn't help but notice that Makoto's explosion had come earlier then it had in the old story, though I personally blame it on that little secret dumping I'd done on Sayaka. Nothing hurt more than someone slinging shade at your friend.

"Whew! That could have ended poorly for you." I said with relief fabricated to sound sarcastic and uncaring. "Ya nearly made me have to punish you. Would have been a shame too…"

I waited for one of them to take the bait I'd cast out for them with that line, and as expected it didn't take long for the so-called-lucky student to take the bait, asking me what I'd meant by that. And I smiled. It was time for those tiny flags to come into play.

"You would have missed out…on the final debate."


	15. First Final Debate for Despair

"…Final…Debate?"

Makoto's questioning was mirrored by the others quite well, their gaze moving from one face to the other baffled by this new development. Kyoko had narrowed her eyes at my little bear-bot with suspicions in her eyes, clearly seeing where I was going with this, but choosing to stay quiet for the moment to gather whatever information I was about to divulge to them. Not one to disappoint, I answered the luckster's question.

"Is there an echo here?" I quipped smugly, knowing that it would ruffle some feathers. "Yes, the "Final Debate"! The debate that is final. A discussion that comes at the end. The last call for the supplement trial."

"Okay, we get it," Hiro rebutted with a sigh, looking quite drained from the day's excitement. Or maybe he was still recovering from the blood loss, either or. "You don't have to be rude about it."

"I beg to differ." I denied, taking a margin of satisfaction at the groan I received. I wasn't real ecstatic that we were still going on either, but these little things helped ween off my fatigue.

Mondo was the one who wanted to be the one to keep things focused this time. "Whatever, so what the fuck is it?"

"If you all return to your stands, I'll be happy to explain how it works." I stated just as willing to continue as they were, and considering how slow some of them were to return, that's saying something. Makoto, in particular, didn't seem to have any desire to go, but thankfully for me, Kyoko could get him to go back with a small pull on his arm. When he looked at her with a bit of confusion, she simply shook her head and gestured for him to pull back for the moment.

Once they had all returned to their designated spots, I cleared my throat and preceded to give them the bad news first. "Now then, first thing that should be noted is the "Final Debate" is something that is exclusive to the supplement trial. As there isn't going to be an official blackened, I technically don't have to punish them."

Taka was quick to panic at that bit of news, his sense of justice flaring up. "Wait! You mean to say that the blackened will get away scot free!?"

"In a word, yes." I confirmed, and that would have remained the case if it wasn't for one thing. "However, that is where the "Final Debate" comes in. Through this, you will decide how the failure will, or will not, be punished."

The whole group looked extremely worried by that remark, and with good reason considering how things had gone so far. However, I wasn't about to finish here. "In your cups are two flags, one black, one white. How this will go is, after a thirty-minute period that you may use to discuss with the others, you will each hold up a flag to represent which of three choices will happen. By holding up the black flag, you acknowledge and accept that they are the blackened, but you wish to see them punished in your own way, as a member of her peers. You will then be able to decide what her punishment will be, either execution, detention, or even spankings, the choice will be yours to make."

Of course, the otaku Hifumi was only focused on one part of what I'd said. "S-Spankings…"

Purposefully ignoring the perverted grin developing on his pudgy face, I continued. "The white flag symbolizes your surrender, specifically you'll surrender your responsibilities to vote to the leading body. Yours truly. You will push aside all that you have done together, gather all the memories that you have shared and cast them aside to have them punished for their transgressions against you all. And I guarantee they won't come back."

"What kind of choices are those?" Hiro asked, his petrified expression easily summarizing the thoughts of the others if I were to judge by their faces. Shaking that off, I replied.

"Well, if you don't like that, you can always choose to go neutral. Simple don't choose a flag at all and your vote will be rendered as if you never existed, allowing those with an actual spine to decide the fate of our blackened. It's your choice." That was the deal I had come up with, the crux of my plan made manifest. But, then comes the problems that come from this plan of mine, one of which Celeste was more than interested in trying to exploit.

"Interesting, and what happens if we all decide to vote neutral? Would you let us all leave back to the school?" Oh, how they all brightened up at that, so many of them immediately getting excited at the idea. It was almost criminal what I was about to do.

I chuckled lightly, "Ooh, you wouldn't want to do that."

"Yeah? And why the hell not?" Mondo questioned, more than a little for the idea of just going straight for 'forget it' and going back to the school without being held responsible for someone's life. Too bad for them, I had no intention of letting them go that easily.

"Well, simply because the vote _will_ be held by the majority. And each one changes the result."

Byakuya, ever the astute one, asked "In what way?"

"Ahem, if the majority is black," I continued my explanation. "the debate will continue unhindered as you decide amongst yourselves the important details of the attempted killer's fate and punishment. Mostly, you'll be focused on what the punishment will be, how long it will be should you decide on a survivable punishment, like detention, who it will be to enact the punishment, and things of that nature. Their future will be up to those that choose this path. If popular vote is white though, _I_ will consider them a full blackened and execute them accordingly. No muss, no fuss, and no take backs."

"And what will happen if much of our votes are neutral?" Sakura asked in her calm controlled voice, though I could sense more than see that she was tensing up in anticipation for the bomb I was about to drop on them. And I wasn't about to disappoint on that front.

"Upupu, I was hoping you'd ask that. In the event of majority neutral vote, I will consider this as contempt of court and the vote will be rendered null and void. Should that happen, I will consider it a win for the blackened."

I didn't have to wait long before Byakuya picked up, his glare almost as chilling as his tone. "…then we'll be executed and they will be able to walk free."

The dark news caught some of them off guard, for some reason. You'd think that they'd have anticipated something like this by now. Taka was the first to speak up about it, his eyes wide and panicked. "Wha-what!? That…that's just- that's…"

"The rules," I cut him off with steel in my voice. "and if you can't accept them, then I'm sad to say that that's your problem. Those that break the rules should always be held responsible for their actions, but so too is it the responsibility of those around them to make sure that their actions are judged accordingly. To ignore your duties simply because it's, 'inconvenient' or because you find it 'immoral' is just as bad as committing the crime yourself! In this school, no, in this _world_ , there is nothing I find more intolerable then someone who shirks their duties to see justice done."

"Justice!?" Hina shouted, mortified that I would even consider something so backwards as fair. "There's nothing _just_ about this!"

Makoto was quick to agree, a deep s "Hina's right, it's just-"

"Irrelevant!" I was quick to interrupt, not up for any debate over this. I had put up with enough nonsense today, thank you! "Now then, back on topic. Now, if you are to get a black dominant vote, but there are a few white and or neutral votes left over, then the white's will be allowed to sit in on the discussion to comment, but will _not_ be allowed to make an actual decision on the matter. Blacks will also be allowed to sit in on a white superior vote if they desire. Neutral voters will wait in the elevator if either party bests them and will only be informed as to what happened after the fact."

"In other words, black votes mean they live, but will be punished by us, white votes mean they will be executed, and neutral votes will result in all of our deaths." Kyoko grimly summarized, actually looking upset with a dark glare upon her face. An expression that was mirrored by anyone who didn't look absolutely horrified at the news.

"Then, why would anyone even try going neutral?" Mondo surprisingly asked, which was strange since I would have thought one of the others would have asked first. But, I wasn't going to complain about it.

Celeste was the one to answer him for me, though she was far from correct about my reasoning. "It is most likely a way for Monokuma to trap us into getting ourselves executed by praying on our weakest."

Eh, well I could work with that though. "Aw shucks, ya caught me. Oh, woe is me."

"C-could you at least t-try to be convincing?" Toko deadpanned, though her shudder kind of threw it off.

"But in all seriousness, it's about time to begin this finally."

* * *

Sayaka hadn't expected to be feeling any worst today. Already, she had suffered so much today, from Monokuma jeers, the realizations of the things she had done and the consequences for those actions, to the never-ending flood of dark emotions that these very realizations were breathing into her. There had been major doubts that there could ever be anything worst.

She was quickly proven wrong.

The second she had been wheeled past those massive doors with the blood red padding, she had felt as if her heart was clenched tightly within her chest. That tightness only grew as the bear pushed her into the elevator and closed the shutters with a resounding _crash_. The sound seemed to echo in her heart as the bear padded over and locked the wheels. He said it was to keep her from rolling off, "Safety first" he claimed, be she liked to think she knew better. It was more likely that it was to keep her from attempting to throw herself off the edge to avoid confronting the others with her crimes.

To be fair, she wasn't too sure if she wouldn't right now.

Then, it began to descend, ever so slowly delving into the depts. The bright lights of the metal box should have been a comfort as they descended deeper and deeper into the earth, but there was none to be found. Instead, they only served as a constant reminder that they were getting closer and closer to where she would be tried, judged, and executed.

The silence was the worst part. Not a word had been said since they had begun their gradual plunge to the rooms below which unnerved her a lot more then she'd anticipated. She expected to be mocked the entire way down, torn apart viciously by his words the entire time until the end. She didn't think for a second that the sadist creature would completely shut down the whole time. Honestly, it unnerved her that there hadn't been so much as a peep from her captor the entirety of the ride down.

She was starting to wish for insults. At least that would keep the ride from being completely dismal.

But, silent he stayed, not a word one way or another leaving her to try and fill the soul crushing silence.

However, that proved an even harder task then she could have ever anticipated. The moment she tried to think up with a topic of discussion, her mind would wander back to why she was even in this elevator in the first place. The night before, her action therein, her thoughts that had run rampant through her mind the whole of it, everything. And when she thought of all that, her mind would shift to the thing that had started it all, the DVD and-

She roughly shook her head, as if to once more remove the memory through sheer force like a dog shaking off a flea. And just like in that metaphor, it was a fruitless endeavor as, just like the flea, the memory would cling tightly to her mind, and even when she succeeded, it would simply make its way back to her effortlessly.

Eventually, they arrived at the bottom and she nearly breathed a sigh of relief. The claustrophobic feel of the large elevator and the seemingly unstoppable returns of the retched memories had been starting to get to her. The only thing that stopped that relief from completely washing over her was the knowledge that, this was the point where it would get worst. Soon, Monokuma would tell them all about her crimes and then she would be executed like the criminal she was. All he needed to do was push her forward and make her face the music.

…So, why hadn't he yet?

As she idly listened to the other Monokuma, and wasn't _that_ a terrifying thought, she noticed that the one by her hadn't moved an inch. It simply stood there, staring at the trial as they moved into the vote. It was completely unaffected when the bizarre slot machine suddenly appeared from the center of the room and remained that way when she was pointed out to be the culprit.

When she heard Monokuma oh so casually announce not only her crime here, but also summarized some of the things she'd done nearly did it for her. With her good hand, she clutched at her chest where her heart ached, her gaze drifting down to the appendage in hopelessness. It wasn't that she had wanted to do those things.

In her career, there were times when the she had been forced to do some rather…unsavory things to maintain her position at the top. None of it had been wanted. There were times that the other members of her idol group had done these things as well, occasionally behind her back, but that didn't mean that she hadn't done those same crimes herself. She was just better at keeping a lid on what she had done then they were.

She knew it was wrong, all of it was wrong, but to keep her group and herself at the top she had to do them.

But, then Makoto spoke up and did what she thought was unthinkable, he started to defend her. He praised her time in middle school, her popularity as an idol among their peers and her dreams that she worked so hard for. Her eyes teared up as he spoke, her heart skipping a beat as he turned the blame onto the bear for her rash actions. Even after hearing about the things she'd done, he still defended her rash actions. He claimed that she wasn't to blame for this.

It made no sense to her. If she had heard someone had done even a fraction of the things she'd done, she would have been nothing short of distrusting and judgmental of them; even if it would be hypocritical of her to do so. Even amongst her Idol group, even though they were friends and rivals, they were still wary of each other because they knew just what limits they would each put in to stay at the top. It was a cruel world out there.

So why was Makoto looking to upset the bear by pretending that she wasn't the horrible person? He clearly knew that she had done some appalling things, so why did he still try and defend her? What could his angle be?

But, deep down, she knew the answer. He thought she was his friend, thought she was someone _worth_ defending. It didn't matter to him what she'd done, she was someone he wanted to protect. She was his _assistant_ after all.

'But, that was a lie.' Her mood dropped even further as she thought that, knowing that it was true. She hadn't clung to him because he was a friend, not in the beginning, she had only done it because he was so trusting, _because_ he was so easy to read, and _because_ he would believe anything she said. That had been the reason she had sought him out over all the others.

But, she had taken to him, she enjoyed his hopeful attitude, his bright outlook, and his "never say die" beliefs. She had looked on fondly whenever he went out of his way to talk to the others, try to make them feel better in these trying times. Even when he walked away looking confused, frustrated, or even disturbed by something that they'd said or did, he always looked happy afterward, ecstatic even, to learn more about them. It was endearing to her and it had been what inspired her to start conversations with the others when Makoto was busy making friends.

And then, he tried to punch out the twisted bear. In that moment, a surge of panic gripped her heart, fearful that he would receive a punishment for upsetting the psycho plush. He didn't deserve to die defending her of all people, not like this.

When Kyoko intervened, Sayaka sighed in relief, though she wasn't sure if it was for Makoto's sake, or if it was just her guilt talking again, reminding her that it was her fault that he had nearly gotten killed because he had been defending her in the first place. Her heart couldn't take much more of this guilt, this pain of knowing that this was all her fault.

Then, Monokuma brought up the Final Debate, and her worries grew tenfold. They were going to decide her fate by voting whether to punish her themselves or to have Monokuma execute her himself, otherwise they would be executed as well. That stunned her, horrified her. It was a choice that was crueler then anything she had thought of. To be forced to make such a decision like that was worst then anything she would have anticipated.

But, then the half and half bear continued, and what he said made her blood freeze in her vanes. "Of course, that depends on what Miss Sayaka decides to vote on herself."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Makoto, as confused as Sayaka was scared. The bear said nothing for a second, and then proceeded to explain what she felt was the worst news she'd ever heard.

"Well, the best part of the Supplement Trial is the fact that the attempted blackened may use the very same flags to decide on their own fate, though, they are only allowed to vote on one of the flags. If they pick the black flag, then they will give their trust in whatever vote you, their peers, decide for them. They will acknowledge their mistakes that they made, and embrace them, no matter the outcome of your votes. However, if they choose the white flag, they will surrender to the system and someone will be punished regardless of your choice."

"'Someone'? What exactly do you mean by that?" asked Byakuya, and it was as if she was suddenly dunked in ice water as the accursed plushy let out a truly sinister chuckle.

"That all depends on if they have their lifeline still. If you'll recall, I told you all that when your life passes, so too does your lifeline; including executions. This is where the beauty of the Supplement Trial comes in. Unlike the regular trial, here you have a chance to _save_ them. If you accept the black flag, then your fate, and that of your lifeline, will then be held in your peer's hands. If they see fit to let you continue existing by voting for the black flag, then nothing happens. However, if they decide that you are to be executed, via the white flag, you may choose to relinquish the grasp you hold on your line, freeing them of suffering the same fate… _Or_ you could pick the white flag to _sacrifice_ them for your sake and allow yourself to get off scot free to continue your life of mutual living with the others. Of course, you will always remember this and the decision will haunt you for the rest of your life, but hey, at least _you_ will get to continue to live on with the symbols of hope that you are."

Sayaka's eyes widened at this news as her jaw dropped it horror. If she decides to give up her lifeline, then she will live. Doing so will result in her group being killed, the idols that she had gone through so much together with. All their struggles, all the heartache and pain, all the dark secrets they'd shared with each other. All of that would be gone, ever last bit of effort rendered pointless. They would all be gone, forever.

However, if she doesn't, then the others will be able to have her punished. That was not something she ever wanted to risk.

But, Satomi Aoba…Ayaka Hameyama…all the others would never forgive her if she let them all die just to save herself. To just give them all up just to save her own skin from her mistakes, was that something she could do? Was that something she could do to those few girls who had been with her through thick and thin, who she'd shared her times of strength and weakest moments with? Who else had she shed tears with all those times that she'd been buried under the stress of the business?

Just them. Those four girls had been her only comfort as they had risen to the top of the boards and struggled to maintain said position in the ever-evolving nature of the music industry.

Yet, could she trust that the others wouldn't just hand her off to Monokuma? She didn't know. Even after a week spent with them, or rather, because she had only spent a week with them, she wasn't sure she could trust them with her life so easily. To just hand them everything she was for them to decide on, it went against everything she had been doing her whole life. She was used to being the one to take control of her life, the one to make the decisions since she had been the only one to be able to make them for herself. So, to give that right to a bunch of strangers she barely knew? It went against everything she'd done till now.

And there was Makoto, the one who she'd betrayed. There wasn't a murderous bone in his body, but she couldn't trust that he would give her a chance after all she'd done. Even with his declaration that he didn't blame her for last night, there was no telling if he would keep his tone now that he had a chance to get some sort of payback on her; no matter how little. She had never had a chance to learn that much about him aside from his nicer side.

Leon as well. He had nearly been _stabbed_ _to death_ by her. If anyone had a reason to spite her right here, it would be him. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that it would happen either.

She had no friends here in this courtroom, that was her belief. So, when Monokuma finally opened the door and revealed her to them, she ignored the gasps of shock coming from her classmates, she disregarded the worried mutterings of her name, and she let herself be rolled in by the bear with her head down, unwilling to see those eyes. The eyes of the people she'd betrayed. She stayed silent as Monokuma handed her the small cup holding her instruments of decisions that she plucked out of the wooden container and let it fall and clatter against the floor.

As she held those two flags she looked at them as she held both in either hand, the white in her left, the black in her right. With one of these, she would have to decide who she would be giving up on, who she would give up to the twisted chicanery of the monster bear. Her friends whom she spent the better part of her life with and considered her family…or herself and all the dreams she'd worked so hard on.

As if to remind her of its presence, her wrist lightly throbbed as it was forced to move so that she could hold the tiny flag. Then, as if in response, the stich in her side twitched to remind her that, it existed, it would _always_ be there for the rest of her life, there to remind her of her betrayal. But, worst still, it would be _seen_ forever.

It would always be there, even when the thread was remove, an unsightly scar that everyone would see whenever she would ware any sort of outfit that showed her midriff; which was damn near every outfit she owned as a Popstar. She would be kicked out of every studio with something like this to grab all the wrong attention. There was no future for her, in or out of the music industry. It was all she knew.

So, trying to ignore the tear she felt running down her cheek, she made her decision. Her arm raised.

' _I'm sorry…this is all I can do now_.'

* * *

"It's show time for our little idol."

I tried not to choke on my own clenched throat as I spoke those words. It all came down to this. A final choice that could make or break this for her and all the others should they end up in this position in the future. My trump card.

The Final Debate.

To be honest, this had been the primary focus of my thoughts since the second day here; which wasn't so difficult since there wasn't much that I _could_ do locked in this room twenty-four seven. I knew that I would need to do a trial if ever one of them tried to commit to murder. That was a given, it was what this twisted system revolved around after all.

But, what happens if they fail? How do I make them regret their actions, yet allow them to survive to see another day?

The answer? Make them _think_ that their actions had dire consequences. Make them believe that something important to them was on the line.

That was the other reason I had the Lifeline Armbands made, as well as the "commercial". Not only did they believe that their deaths would result in the deaths of their loved ones, but they would have to struggle with knowing that they would be killing, not just the person in front of them, but that person's most precious person as well. While Sayaka clearly didn't pay that too much thought, likely too busy trying to escape to remember, the others would have it burned into their minds always whenever they so much as looked at their arm.

However, that was just the start. They first had a reason to hold on to their hope of getting out. Now they had even more reason to fear for their failures and dread the choices they'd have to make.

By giving them the choice of either offering each other to me, or saving them, it would enhance their feelings of responsibility and truly make them think before they vote. I gave them a way to save themselves from death only once, and I would give them a way to save their loved one, but designed it in a way that prevented them from using both. This would be a true test of their character that would force them to make the hardest decisions now where they were safe before I eventually would send them out into the broken world where this kind of decision will be made constantly. Plus, it would also help the others learn who among them would have the most difficulty making those decisions as well as who would bend the furthest under pressure.

There was nothing more dangerous out there then a person who'll give up their morals for their own gain.

…No, I realize that it seems hypocritical of me to think that, but it's different here! I'm only pushing them for their benefit, not mine.

Regardless, if I can get them to think about the risks early, then that makes things easier for them in the long run.

Now, the ability to give up the Lifelines to preserve their own life, that served a similar purpose. This would tell everyone what they are willing to do to keep going. Who they would give up on to move forward. And that would make it so that the others would know who to keep an eye on in the future.

Same goes for those that were willing to risk their safety to protect their Lifeline. This would show them who were willing to risk the odds to protect those close to them. It would give them an opportunity to know how remorseful they were of their actions.

There was a risk that the other students would still ask for their execution regardless, but it's still better then I'd ever want to happen.

' _Still, I'm surprised what Sayaka decided._ ' I found myself staring at the little flag held in her shaking grasp over her head. Of the choices that she had available to her, I hadn't expected her to pick the black flag. I would have assumed that she would have gone with the white flag given the fact that she still had her whole dream to grab for, but I wasn't going to whine about it. It was good to see she wasn't willing to risk the life of her follow band-mate to continue her own career, but it was still suspicious.

Why now did she decide to put their life above her own and not before all of this? Why did she wait until now to decide to care?

Eh, in the end it didn't matter. Right now, there were other things to focus on. Clearing my throat, I made the second Monokuma walk over and high-five the one in the chair before returning it into standby mode. As it walked away to resume its preprogramed duties, I addressed the group. "So, now that that's been decided, it's time to debate. You have ten minutes to talk amongst yourselves and make your decision on what to vote on, so try to keep it quick. If you like, you can tell what you're voting for and get others to join in, or you can keep quiet. Whatever you do, you must decide by the end of the time limit. So, have at it, starting…now!"

"What is there to discuss?" Celeste asked, fiddling with her hair as she spoke. "We have our culprit laid before us, I see no reason why we need to continue to waste time discussing what will happen to them."

"What? That's fuckin' cold." Mondo commented, and Sayaka flinched as well from the gambling queen's indifferent tone. It was like she was talking about the weather; it was so monotone and uncaring.

Byakuya certainly did nothing to help the situation, stating, "Regardless, there is no need to discuss this. We simply need to decide on what exactly is to be done with her."

"Really?" chimed in Hiro, "That's a bit harsh, don't you think."

"Oh?" Celeste asked, her eyebrow raised high as she looked at the injured fortune teller. "Was it not you who said you wanted to hold the trial because you, "couldn't let it go."?"

Hiro flinched in response, not able to deny her claim. "W-Well, yeah, but…"

Celeste was quick to cut his weak response, her eyes wide and foreboding as she tried to stare into his soul. "But what? What reason could you have to postpone this outcome?"

"Well, um, I mean, we still don't know _why_ she did it. Do we?" Hiro flinched at the glare he'd gotten from both Byakuya and Celeste, but I smiled when the others seemed to pick up on his meaning. Sayaka flinched as well, but I was far from concerned with what she was thinking of. If hanging out her dirty laundry against her will ended up saving her, then I say, "By all means, go for it."

Taka jumped on the opportunity presented, an idea forming in his head. "That's true! We never did talk about the contents of our videos! If we could see what was on miss Sayaka's, I feel that would help alleviate our doubts in her and her actions!"

"…" Sayaka was silent. As silent as a grave. Her head was bowed down, preventing anyone from seeing her expression though her long tresses that flowed over her face like a blue waterfall. But I could see her shaking hands through the bars of her podium. I could see the wrinkles in her skirt from where her good hand was wringing the garment. I felt a cold feeling grip at my soul and a shiver rush up my spine. She was going to try something drastic, I couldn't tell you how I knew, but I could feel that things were _not_ going to go well from here.

"Sayaka…?" Makoto had apparently caught the unusual silence emitting from the brunette and was justifiably worried. With good reason, every time so far she'd gone silent for a minute, something went sideways. And just as expected, what she did next wasn't anything like what I was hoping to see her do today either.

"I can't tell you." She said, her voice barely a whisper, but in this courtroom, she might as well have shouted for how well it carried over the room. The eyes of many of the students were all over her instantly.

Mondo was the first to recover from his shock, his expression shifting to an aggravated one as he asked, "Wha- Why the hell not?"

"You wouldn't understand." Sayaka replied, her hair waving around when she shook her head slightly, as if she was speaking to a child too young to comprehend what she was talking about. The biker huffed angrily at that, but surprisingly went quiet at the slight.

I would have expected him to just lash out again, maybe swear a bit as he denied her claims. But aside from him all but physically spitting to the side in disgust, he was silent. The others weren't much better, some of them merely looked at each other, as if unsure what they should say to that. I could see where they might be coming from, they barely knew each other as it was, who were they to say one way or another if they would understand where she was coming from if she told them what she'd seen. Yes, they knew that it was someone she loved, that was the motive after all, but the feelings she held were hers and hers alone and they wouldn't be able to say they knew exactly what she felt.

Which is why I nearly fell over laughing when Makoto oh so casually stated in a depressing voice, "…It was her band. Monokuma did something to them."

Sayaka looked like she had been socked in the gut, her eyes wide as they shot straight to the luckster. She sounded like it too, her next words sounding almost breathless. "…! How did you…?

"During the investigations," Makoto explained, guilt spread across his face as he turned to look at her. "I found your DVD…I was worried so I decided to watch it to try and find out what had happened. I'm sorry."

He had dropped his gaze, unable to look her in the eye to see her broken-hearted expression. I didn't blame him, I was having difficulties looking at it myself, and I had the luxury of a camera being between me and everyone else. Just about made me want to chastise the luckster for her when she stuttered. "I…I don't..."

"Miss Sayaka!" Taka suddenly interjected with an authoritative smack of his palms against the wood of his podium, startling me so much that I'd have knocked over my chair had it not been bolted to the ground. "While I don't condone Makoto's invasion of your privacy, I must ask what happened in your DVD!"

Mondo again surprised me when he jumped in with an aggravated, "Dude, we don't need to go that far. Naegi just fuckin' said that that prick bear did something to 'em."

Technically, I hadn't done a single thing to them myself. Even when I considered that the old Junko might have had something to do with their sudden state of being, I highly doubt that she would personally harm them herself. If there was one thing I could count on form the despair fetishist, it's that she found things more entertaining when others did horrible acts of their own will, even more so if they do it out of desperation. Whatever she did to Sayaka's band, it wasn't by her own physical hand.

That doesn't excuse her though from breaking people spirits until they even consider doing these atrocities, but I'm just saying, not my fault.

Regardless, Hina didn't seem to understand one thing, "Sayaka, just tell us why you did it. Why did you try to…to kill Leon? Why frame Makoto? Please, we just want to understand."

Sayaka, well, let's just say, I didn't like the dark look in her eyes right about now. "…What would it change…?"

"Sayaka?" Makoto asked, just about as worried as I was about what it sounded like she was planning. Was she actually going to…?

"What would you know about why I did all of this change?" I felt a cold lance of fear grip at my heart for the dark look in her eyes only confirmed it. She was going to try to convince them to do the exact opposite of what I had been hoping for.

Kyoko was the one to respond to her question, her tone unwavering as usual, yet it held a hint of caution that I found interesting. "It would help to better understand your reasoning for your actions so that we can make an unbiased vote."

There was a scoff thrown her way from Byakuya, his stern visage clearly stating his thoughts, but maybe he didn't think everyone was worthy of attempting to read his glorious mind and chose to grace them with his words. "And what would be the point in that? It won't change the fact that she betrayed us in the first place."

Kyoko barely gave him more than a curiosity glance, before she closed her eyes and took a small breath. "…Maybe so, but it doesn't mean that we have the right to judge her without knowing her side in this. If we did that, then we would be no better than Monokuma."

"Now, that's just uncalled for." I stated feeling honestly insulted. That hypocritical line of thought was admittedly true in regards to the personality I was trying to portray, don't get me wrong, but none of them were aware of my side in this and were judging me anyway. That kind of thing was one of the many reasons my faith in humanity, as a whole was rather low in the first place.

People like Byakuya certainly didn't help matters. "If you aren't going to contribute anything of importance, then don't waste my time with pointless commentary."

"Well, fine then." I quipped, before having the bear lie down. "Guess I'll just take a power nap."

Byakuya, the self-entitled jerk, then turned to look at the accused, his gaze firm as ever as he looked at her darkened eyes. Not into them, that would imply that he had something resembling common respect for other people. "Now then, if you are going to talk, now would be the time."

Sayaka, however, simply shook her head as her response, either ignoring or not caring that the scion was practically declaring his disgust with his eyes, before stating. "Like I said, what would be the point? I already committed to my actions, it would be pointless to say why I did what I did. Let's just finish it."

Makoto's eyes went wide, as did all the others. She wasn't even going to try to defend her actions, hell, she was practically begging them to execute her at this rate. Why though, that was the question. What could that possibly serve? A question the Luckster stared to ask, "What? Sayaka, what are you-?"

"-talking about?" she interrupted, though she refused to even look in his direction as she did. "I'm already saying it; it would be best for everyone that I be executed."

Mondo reacted poorly to that, a blood vessel in his forehead had started throbbing violently as he yelled. "The fuck!? What the hell are you going on about with this, "best for everyone" crap!?"

"Y-Yeah, if we vote for that then you'll be…" Chihiro started, quivering in her stand as she tried and failed to finish her sentence, the implications just too much for her pacifistic heart to accept. If she could have it her way, I had no doubt that she would chose to go her whole life without having what she was unable to say spoken aloud. Sadly, Toko has always been without such a filter and with stuttering words filled with fear.

"…E-Executed."

That word. That damned word caused the whole of them to freeze up, despite having heard it and even occasionally saying it, this was the first time that it seemed like it would possible happen to one of them. It got worse when you consider that one of them was actually saying that they were not only supportive of the idea, but were willing to have it done to them. It was mind boggling,

Sayaka gulped, but it was so minuscule that I almost missed it. "It doesn't matter, everything that happened is my fault. I deserve to be punished for my actions."

"W-Well that is true," Taka admitted, but there were clearly conflicting thoughts going on in his head as he internally fought between what he felt was right and what he'd thought was right. "but execution? That is…"

"What I deserve." She interrupted once again, her eyes closed as she tried to control her breathing. She was only partially successful in her efforts, as when she exhaled her breath shuddered at the end. I don't know who she was trying to fool, but it was clear she wasn't going to stop anytime soon. She just wasn't able to put her whole heart into it, and it only got worse when Makoto jumped in once more.

"No! Sayaka, you told me that we needed to work together so that we could get out of here. If you get executed now, all the things you did for your dream will be for nothing. You said that you would-"

Again, Sayaka interrupted, but now there were tears accompanying her stuttering. "As I s-said, it doesn't matter…not anymore. Just v-vote for my e-execution already. H-hurry up already and end this."

My heart was going out for her, as was the others. It was clear that she was breaking, her resolve wavering with every word both heard and said. Even a slack-jawed moron could see the strain she was putting herself under for all of this. It pained me to watch as she continued to try and talk them into the worst outcome and I wanted nothing more than to stop it.

But, there wasn't a thing I could do. I told them that they had to be the ones to decide her fate, not mine. I didn't even know why on earth she would be asking for this in the first place, and without that knowledge, I'd be going in more blind then a mole with a blindfold. If I intervened to soon, then all kinds of things would go wrong. I had to hold my tongue for now, no matter how much it pains me to say it, and hope that one of them could solve this, and soon.

"Why are you trying to get us to vote for your execution? Do you really think so little of yourself?" Kyoko questioned, and already I was ready to sing halleluiah because I could practically see the gears turning in her head. No doubt she will be able to get to the bottom of this, or even get one of the others to get there. With any luck, this could turn things around for us.

Sadly, Sayaka seemed to regain some of her composure at the slight against her. "What do you mean? That's not what I saying at all. I'm just telling you what I think should be done. Just end this farce already."

"That is something I can agree on." And here comes freaking Celeste to make it worst. I don't know if it was because she just wanted to get this over with like she said, or if she was just sick of discussing this after so much time had already gone by. Hard to say.

"Wait hold on. Somethings not right!" Makoto interjected, but before he could elaborate he was cut off by Hiro. "I'll say, it's like she's a completely different person from before. C-Could she be possessed by a spirit of some kind!?"

"Seriously?" Hina replied, just as aghast as I was that he was so ignorant to the mask the idol had worn. "Is now really the time for that nonsense?"

Once more, Sayaka shook her head, but this time there was a sense of exasperation in her voice. "No, it's nothing that absurd. I'm just done acting like I'm going to get out of here. Why should I keep acting like the impossible will happen?"

Mondo easily summed up my thoughts, though his was more aimed at anger more than my annoyance. "Fuckin' hell."

"Sayaka, there's still something I need to ask you." Makoto stated, his expression caught me off guard though. It was far more serious then I was used to seeing from this herbivore of a boy, but there was something…off about it. Call me crazy, but I could just about swear that he looked like he was about to have a heart attack. He just had this expression that said that he knew what the answer would be to whatever it was he was about to ask her, but he wanted desperately to be wrong.

I don't know if Sayaka noticed the same thing as I did or not, she had only glanced in his direction for a second before pausing in her reply. "…What is it?"

Makoto took a deep breath, and asked the one question I had hoped he would wait until the end to ask. "From the very beginning, since we got trapped here…has everything you said been a lie?"

Sayaka was silent for a moment, her lips pursed and her brow furrowed. I could tell that she was debating on how she wanted to respond, whether she had indeed been falsifying her words or merely stretching the truth a bit. It wasn't that hard to tell that she had in fact been manipulating Makoto, that much was a truth that only those who didn't know the signs would have missed. But, had all of it been a lie? All the stories she'd revealed to him, the words of praise, the moments of weakness. Had she faked all of it?

Well, I don't know if she believed she did or not, but she clearly decided on what she wanted to believe. "…Of course. I'd have thought you'd have figured that out already."

"…" Makoto, flinched back at her snapped remark, the words he didn't wish to hear coming from her practically slapped him across the face and leaving him dazed and hurt. He didn't want to believe what she was saying, I could see that, but then she continued.

"I regret my actions… I really do. But it doesn't matter now. I don't want anything to do with this anymore." An icy glare found its way to her face, marring her features into a revolting cross between a scowl and a grimace as she glowered daggers at the poor luckster. "We are _not_ friends, nor were we ever. You were just a means to an end. Nothing more."

"S-Sayaka…" Chihiro muttered, absolutely shocked and appalled by the pop-idol's verbal lashing that she had laid onto the unfortunate boy. The programmer wasn't the only one, both Hifumi and Toko had been stricken silent at the verbal bile that had been slung Makoto's way. Taka had also been stricken with a case of shock induced silence, and judging by the way his eye would glance between the luckster and idol it seemed that he was having a difficult time deciding if he wanted to shout about her upsetting attitude, or if he wanted to offer consulate Makoto.

"That's just horrible! Why would you say something like that!?" Hina responded heatedly, positively livid that the boy she was starting to see as a friend was being abused so harshly by someone that she had thought she could trust to be another friend. I don't think she had ever felt so disgusted in another human being in her life, so dark her glare was for the blue haired teen. She wasn't alone in this either, Mondo looked ready to leap over the railings to sock a blue hair witch, and it was only his belief that a man should never strike a woman that held him at bay. Sakura had me worried though, her clenched fist was shaking at her side, ready to be planted into someone's face; and I know she would have no hesitations for gender.

However, Sayaka remained steadfast in her resolve, but I could see the misty glaze in her eyes. She could only hold on to this farce for so much longer. She had spent so much of her life trying to become a beloved icon that would make everyone happy that it was clear that this act was hurting her as much as in was the rest the seventy-eight class here. It would only be a matter of time before she broke down under the strain of their hated that she was inspiring.

Still she pushed on, despite all of that. "Because it's the truth, I never would have associated with that loser if I didn't think I had too."

Celeste tittered seemingly amused by this turn of events. "It seems that her true face has been revealed, though, it is not surprising all things considered. After all, was it not her who tried to turn Naegi's room into a crime scene."

As expected, Byakuya joined in on the 'oh so happy to belittle someone' shtick with his air of superiority and that oh so smug smirk that made me want to slug him in the jaw. "Yes, that is true. She was truly a cunning vixen to recruit Makoto for her little act. Such a terrifying woman she is, isn't she Makoto?"

This couldn't be worst. Sayaka was blowing my attempt to save her ungrateful life, Makoto looked like he was going to be sick, almost everyone looked about ready to just kill the blue haired moron for her actions, and Kyoko was being bloody silent now of all times! If this kept up, there wouldn't be a cupcakes chance in a room of kids for me to keep that idiot-idol alive.

For a brief second, I wondered again why I was even trying to save her. She clearly had no intention of living past today and was trying to make sure of that with these false words of a deception she might not have meant. Why should I keep her from kicking the preverbal bucket if she is just going to wreck it anyway?

However, I shook the thought from my head as soon as it came. I was already invested in this train wreck, might as well try and do some damage control.

"Wow…I mean what a twist. To hear such cold-hearted words from someone so widely admired." I started out, trying to make the navy haired girl flinch and regret trying to put her foot in the grave, I succeeded too, before turning to Makoto. "And just after you said all those nice things about her too. Must be so hard to hear such treachery from someone you invested so much faith into."

I felt bad about saying that to him, he was already suffering the slap in the face from her betrayal, this was just salt on the wound. Sadly, salt is a good purifier in a pinch. "Of course, I wouldn't know anything about that since, as a bear, I never needed to trust anyone but myself" a quick joke to raise the tension, per Monokuma's iota. Now to add a line that will get them thinking, while at the same time making me out to be more of an ass. "…but, ya' know, it's kinda strange how drastic a shift this was. Ah well, what do I care? It looks like I might get to execute someone after all!"

"That's to cruel." Chihiro muttered, her face moist by the tears leaking from her eyes, despite her attempts to wipe them away. It was like there was a miasma in the air now, a choking feeling that held them all in place as they either glared at the singer with contempt or were on the verge of breaking down in weeping sorrow. None of them were ready to deal with this kind of thing, for all their bluster and abilities, they had little to no experience with this kind of situation and had defaulted to their basic emotions in an attempt to rationalize the storms in their hearts. They had no real experience to base this off though, and it would prevent them from getting an unbiased vote.

Thank the gods that they had someone like Kyoko to set things on the right path. "Hold on, there's something that needs addressing."

"What is it now?" Sayaka's frustration was quite interesting to see after all that she'd been spouting about thus far. I couldn't stop the grin on my face from forming when I realized that her frustrations would only skyrocket soon as the detective got a foothold.

To prove my unspoken words, Kyoko looked straight into the idol girl's eyes, and with complete conviction started to systematically break her argument. "Sayaka…You're lying."

"…!" Said girl froze for a second, her eyes wide as she realized that her stunt was about to be revealed for the sham that it was. This didn't last long though, as she quickly realized that the others were now looking at her, she tried to mount flimsy defense. "N-No I'm not! I can't stand him!"

Too bad for her, while Makoto had flinched once more at her harsh speech, Kyoko had no intention of being deterred. "That's not what I meant. Whether you care about Makoto's wellbeing notwithstanding, earlier you said that it would be "best for everyone" if you were executed…but who exactly were you referring too? Us…or your band."

In that moment, I felt like kissing that beautiful woman. I also wanted to slap myself as well as Sayaka for making this situation become so gosh dang infuriating! This was the problem that comes from making such drastic changes to the status quo, you get all kinds of problems. When I had made my alternative to "punishment time", I had done so with the idea of risks and reward in mind. The thought was that, as there wasn't going to be any one successfully murdering another, hopefully, then maybe they wouldn't try and get each other executed. With any luck, they would be able to bond over the experience and grow stronger over the traumatic experience.

Sadly, I'd forgotten that people have one common factor. The more you think you know people, the more they will surprise you.

Mostly from their stupidity.

But in this case, it was surprising how Sayaka would try to save anyone, even her former bandmates. I had always gotten the impression that she would have jumped onto the option to save her own life at the cost of her co-performer. It was just the way she was so manipulative of Makoto during the time they were together, constantly heaping praise while contently making it seem like she was his closest friend in this school. She had been leaning by his nose the whole time, like a puppy being told that they were going for a ride, unaware of the plans that she had held for him at the vet. He just didn't see the bad in the actions she had until it was too late, so naive to her actions that it was embarrassing to watch at times.

Now, my little internal rant over, Kyoko continued, "Remember what Monokuma said. "Should we decide that you are to be executed, you may choose to relinquish the grasp you hold on your line"."

I could see the looks of realization in the other teens eyes; apart from Hiro, obviously. With his hand on his chin, Hifumi was the one to speak up with his own interpretations. "Hmm, I believe I see the connection. You mean to say that she is playing the role of the sacrificial character to appease our captor in exchange for her party's lives. A classic maneuver. Though I'm not sure that is a practical plan in these circumstances."

Makoto was the most thrown off by this though. "Sayaka, are you trying to get us to execute you to save your Band?" all the insults, the stinging remarks, all of this was so that she could save her lifeline from possible death. He could relate in a way, the idea of losing someone you love can do things to you that you would never have anticipated. If he hadn't felt the need to help her, he couldn't say for sure if he wouldn't do the same.

As I looked around, I could see he wasn't the only one likely thinking of such things. Sakura, Taka, Hifumi, and even Chihiro looked on with varying degrees of distraught expressions on their faces, ranging from livid to horrified as they thought about being in the same situation. Mondo and Hina were looking at the idol with looks of mixed remorse, as if unsure whether their harsh words to her earlier were something they should apologize for, of if they should still be upset by what she had done. It was a problem they would have to take care of later. The only ones who were looking at her with spiteful or otherwise dark emotions were Byakuya, Celeste, and Toko.

I could understand it in part. Byakuya had always had a bit of a ruthless streak since the beginning and would have no sympathy for someone who had committed what he probably thought was a crime against him. It may not have been directly aimed at him per say, but her actions still could have gotten him killed and he had no time for anything like that. Now that she had her reasons for her actions revealed, he no longer found this situation interesting and so had no further reason to pretend otherwise.

Celeste, for all her faults, was a gambler that didn't like taking risks or betting on others if there was no guaranty. Nor was she someone who could comprehend the idea of giving yourself away for the sake of others, always looking out for número uno. She wasn't the kind of girl to easily forgive or forget failure either and despised many of the things Sayaka had done so far. As far as I could tell, whatever happened to the popstar was no longer anything the gambler would lose any sleep over.

And Toko, well, I knew she wouldn't be happy either way. From her horrible upbringing, she already had a low opinion on anyone and everyone. Seeing what Sayaka tried to do, in was only natural that the novelist would now hate her guts and want nothing to do with the popular singer.

Leon was still a nonfactor, completely silent and staring down ever since they had finished the vote. I was getting worried about him now. It was so unusual to see him so quite in the first place, his attitude so in your face and boisterous that you couldn't help but notice him. Yet now he was as silent as a grave. It was very concerning.

Sayaka looked like she was about to have an aneurism, her eyes wild and unfocused as she tried to deny Kyoko's claims about her actions. "D-Don't be ridiculous!"

She might have continued there, had I not decided that enough was enough. If breaking what remains of her spirit was what it took to save her, then so be it. "Yeah, don't be ridiculous. Anyone who actually watched the last video would know that you are only able to use _one_ lifeline, not a whole entourage."

Sayaka's eyes could not be any wider, nor could her face be any paler. "What?"

"I mean, how unfair would that have been? Some of you have, like, a small army of people that you could have used to save yourselves, while the rest of you have a tiny amount that could barely fill a dinning booth. No sir, that would have been bad news to give you more than one."

"So you're saying…?" Sayaka asked breathlessly, her good hand clutching the cloth held in front of her heart. She shook her head in denial, desperately clinging to that last piece of her hope that it was a lie, a cruel, cruel lie that what she was hearing. That her efforts weren't in vain, that she hadn't tried to burn her bridges for nothing.

I had no intention of honoring those wishes, no matter how true they were "That any attempt to save your group as you are now, is utterly…pointless."

"I…I…" If it wasn't for her already sitting in a wheelchair, I think she would have fallen to her knees. I could practically see the metaphorical glass of her psyche shatter into tiny shards across the ground. I had taken the last shot she had at redeeming herself within her own eyes and crushed it underneath my heel like an insect. There was nothing left of the light in her eyes, just a seemingly endless abyss of despair swallowing up her everything, and leaving a broken shell behind. Truly, she was emotionally destroyed.

The worst part was the tears. Large, bulbous drops of salty water had started pouring out of the sides of her eyes leaving trials all the way down her cheeks and her chin before falling to their deaths in her lap, spattering all over upon impact only for another to come right after it and share in its predecessors' fates. There was no emotion to be seen on her face as she committed teary genocide, and if she didn't blink every occasion, I'd have thought she had died then and there.

I felt…depressed by that. I had destroyed the very foundations of her mind to save her life. Was that worth it in the end? I don't know.

Taka spoke, his words unsure. "H-Hold on. Didn't you say that we could save them if we-"

"Save?" I cut him off, "Oh, no, no, no, no, _no_. Pay attention, I said _relinquish_ , to voluntarily cease to keep or claim; give up. I never said anything about _me_ letting them go. It just means that they won't die _with you_."

"You son of a bitch!" Mondo ever so eloquently summarized the teens collective thoughts about me, followed by Hina's cry, "That's not fair! You lead us on!"

"Sure it is!" I stated with sadistic glee in my voice, masking the dark feelings bubbling in my heart. "Now quit asking me to explain things for you all, you're almost out of time."

Byakuya followed up on what I'd said, but there was a great sense of reluctance. "As loath as I am to agree, he is right. It would be best that we finish deciding this now." Then, to my surprise, he turned back to the proceedings and said, "That being said, I for one believe we should vote for her isolation as our proper recourse for her actions."

"Wait, seriously?" I asked, my brow raised high. "Weren't you the one who was gung ho on getting her executed?"

He scoffed, as if insulted. "Don't be so presumptuous. I never explicitly stated that I believed she should be executed, I simply declared we should finish this farce and decide what should be done with her. It was Sayaka, and Sayaka alone who has been saying that we should execute her."

I was…rather stunned by that. With all his attitude towards the idea of working together, I would have thought he would been far more supportive of the idea of execution. Hina then killed my amazement by only stating, "Byakuya…"

I hate that cliché. Saying a person's name, but not actually asking them something grinds my gears.

"Don't make any assumptions about my actions. I simply have no desire to give him the satisfaction of executing one of us without due prosses. That is why I propose that we vote for her to be given the detention treatment you mentioned before, rather than enlist in your services." He's a Oujidere. I'm calling it now, it's the only thing that makes sense. He pushes for people to give him respect and to prove that he is superior. He thinks his family will rule the world via the words of destiny. He's a Oujidere.

"T-Though I am concerned about the ramifications, I must agree with Byakuya!" Taka closed his eyes momentarily, but they snapped open again as he stated his consent with his dramatically pointing finger. "Miss Sayaka should be allowed to continue to live and think about her actions!"

Mondo, on the other hand didn't seem to agree. "I don't know man. Is that really the best idea?"

"What are you saying?" Sakura asked in response, her intense gaze focusing dead on the biker's. To his credit, he only flinched marginally, to the point that I would have missed it if I had blinked.

"I-I don't mean I want her to get executed or anything like that," He said, before he reached up to scratch the back of his head. "I'm just not sure if just locking her up is enough. I mean, a lot of my gang and I were in juvey at one point and, well, the box isn't just a thing in movies. I'm just worried that she'll just get worst if she's stuck in her room alone for too long."

Celeste raised a delicate eyebrow in response, intrigued by his statement. "Interesting insight coming from you of all people. And what, pray tell, would you suggest?"

"Hell, I don't know," Mondo said as he moved his hands to the pockets. "Maybe we need to have someone just follow her around till we're sure we can trust her again or something."

I glanced at the clock, and gave it a double take. Time was almost up. "For the love of- would you guys stop talking about what you are going to do _if_ the vote is black, and decide what you're going to vote on!"

They all cringed at that, they hated that this was what is was going to come to. But it had to be done. Amazingly, Hiro spoke up with a worried, "Oh yeah, so…I'm going to pick the black flag."

That caught everyone off guard, me especially. Why the hell would he be doing that? Toko took the stage with a disgusted look on her face and a judgmental finger pointing at him in accusation. "H-Huh? W-Why would you c-choose to pick that flag? D-Do you got some kind of p-perverted plan for her, you d-disgusting hobo?"

"Hey! I'm not a hobo!" he relied to her rude remark, but then calmed down afterward. "And, well, I still haven't gotten my explanation for why she stabbed me. So, I'd like to hear the truth before she gets offed, ya' know."

"That's cold." Hina deadpanned.

I, however, didn't care for his reasoning, for at least that was one in my favor. "Whatever, that's one vote. Anyone else? Chihiro maybe."

Chihiro was caught off guard by the sudden inclusion in this conversation. "H-Huh!?"

"You've been awful quite so far, what do you think?" I replied, my tone calm if uncaring despite my rushing heartbeat. I hope this goes well

"I-I…" The little programmer stuttered, not use to being put on the spot like this. It was nerve-wracking for her, I knew that much, but I needed to push this along quickly.

Mondo was quick to come to her defense, his loud voice startling some of the others for its intensity. "Hey, you piece of shit! Quit messing with her!"

Chihiro seemed to snap out of her anxiety though, so I wasn't going to comment on it. "I-I don't want to vote. I can't pick either one, they're both just so…horrible. If we don't punish her, Monokuma will…but I can't do that, it would be the same as hurting her ourselves. I'm sorry, but I…I…"

From there, Hifumi took over, looking just as nervous as the chibi, his large hands gripping his tie as he adjusted it pointlessly. "I-I have to agree. This is just too much for me right now. I do want to lend my assistance…but, I'm just not sure what to do."

I could sympathize with them on their decision. In their minds, it was like they themselves were the ones to hurt her if they vote one way or another. They knew what they were risking by not voting, but they couldn't stand what that would require them to do.

Toko took the next stance, angrily proclaiming, "W-Well, I know what I'm p-picking. I d-don't trust that she won't t-try something again in the future."

That was surprising, I never took her as the kind of person to so violently…who am I kidding? She'd totally do that at this point. Hina was the one to comment on this. "That's a terrible thing to say! Can't you see that she's already suffered enough?"

"S-Shut up! I-I'm just thinking about my own s-survival here. B-Besides, h-how do we know this isn't s-some kind of trick? S-She already betrayed us once, w-what's to stop her from trying again?" To be fair, she wasn't wrong.

"W-Well…Um…" Our athletic swimmer struggled to counter that.

Toko was particularly smug about that. "See, y-you can't say for sure. Y-Your head's as empty as your arguments."

Hina was not impressed. "Hey!"

Sakura took over next, "Regardless, it matters not. Her actions are not to be taken lightly…Aye will choose to see that she understands that."

"So you're saying…?" I asked, just wanting to make absolutely sure.

"Despite mine own concerns, I believe it best if I forswear the path of surrender and accept the blackened flag. It is my hope that there will come a time that Maizono will overcome this trial that she has been cursed with from this sacrifice."

Hina chimed in next. "Yeah, I'm with Sakura on this. I don't want to punish her, but I can't just let this go. I'm sorry, but that's what I think."

I nodded, though I didn't have Monokuma mimic it. Where Sakura goes, so too does Hina. It's just how these things worked.

Well, that was almost everything. All that was left was to get was the gambler, all-star, and detective. I already knew that Makoto likely wasn't going to vote, or if he did it would be a blackened vote to save her life, and Kyoko would likely do the same. I wasn't too sure on Celeste, her poker face was on full force right now so it was hard to guess where she would go, but I'm fairly curtain that she will go white. Call it intuition if you must. All that was left was to hear Leon's thought on this. "And what about you, mister All-star? What do you have to say?"

Leon was silent. Silent as a grave in a vacuum. I couldn't help but feel worried that he would try to sabotage this whole thing.

But then, he started to speak. And what he said, what he said shocked me silent; at least for a little while. "…I…I think this is all fucking stupid. Punish her...Execute her…? Why the fuck are we the ones to decide this B.S.! We aren't some kind of Jury, Judge, or fuckin' Executioner! This…this is not a fair trial; there's nothing fair about it!"

I was amazed, it was as if a spark had reignited in his eyes, a burning passion that would blaze a trail through this despair that I'd been laying for them to wade through. As I glanced around, I noticed that some of the others had risen their heads up at that remark. Either confused or not, there were a few of them that had slightly different looks to them. I wasn't sure if it was hope or not, but they didn't all look as lost as they had a while ago. Makoto, who I had been worried about the most out of all of them, looked like he had regained some of his pep as well, nodding in agreement to what the red head was saying. The others weren't nearly as excited looking, but they would pull through now that someone was getting them started on the path to recovery.

Then I looked at Sayaka, and I felt saddened yet hopeful. She hadn't stopped crying, and I was worried her be drastically dehydrated after all of this, but it had weakened in quantity. More importantly though, her eyes had regained some of their light. It wasn't much, and I had doubts that it ever would fully recover the true warmth it had once held, but I felt confident that she would be able to recover from this with the help of Makoto, Leon, and the others.

"Oh?" Celeste asked, her little smile finally present after being missing for so much of the trial. "Well, this is a surprise coming from you of all people. Were you not the one that Sayaka had tried to murder in the first place? I would have assumed that you would have been overjoyed to see her get her comeuppance."

Leon flinched at that, and I could guess why. He might have had such thoughts going through his mind at one point or another. Yet, "M-Maybe so, but death should never be the first option! You're not any different! Any one of us could have been the one to start this stupid so-called "game"! I think we should keep her alive, if only so she can get an actual trial when we get out of here."

" _If_ you get out of here." I quipped, to his ire.

"Fuck off!"

Hah! He wishes I would…of course I do too in a way. I didn't want to do this anymore. I nearly got someone killed, and now there is a chance that I'm going to get them killed for sure. They can say what they want about what they _plan_ to vote for, until the vote is cast then there is no definitive answer to what her fate is. I didn't want to risk that, but I had already made my bed, it was time to lay in it.

"Whatever, your time is up! Please locate you're chosen flag and choose the fate for Sayaka Maizono!"

With those words, they all went silent once more. Each of them picked up their two toothpick sized flags, some more hesitant then the others, some bolder. After they each held their flags, they took a moment to look at each other with looks of caution. You could practically see their thoughts written on their expressions. Who would vote for what? What would happen to Sayaka, or them for that matter. Would they stay committed to what they had said earlier, or would they change their minds because of the pressure of their peer's? Which of them would risk it all to be excluded from this as neutral? What about the ones who vote to surrender or punish? When this was over, what would happen to their continued communal lives here, if they even survive to continue it?

No one could answer these questions, no matter how much they studied each other for the secrets hidden inside each mind here. Almost all of them closed their eyes, either out of respect…or fear of what the vote would be. It was by my count of three that they raised their flags, committing themselves to their decisions. Some of them flinched, afraid they had made the wrong choice as they heard the counts I made, no mentions of which was the victor or not. Not a clue as to who had won was known to them, none willing to look to see. Finally, when the suspense was at its highest, I told them to open their eyes and see what all the others had voted for.

There was some hesitation from most, if not all of them, none wanting to learn if they had condemned someone to death, but eventually they pried open their eyes to see what the fate of their fellows was.


	16. Singing all-star of future Despair

**Trigger warning, mentions of dark themes.**

Dark.

Dark.

All there was is darkness.

Darkness to the left. Darkness to the right. It was in front, and it was behind. It was up, and it was down.

Everywhere the eye could see. More and more, it was dark.

Dark.

Dark…

And more dark.

Suddenly, there is light, bright and luminescent. It cuts through the dark like a knife through butter revealing a formation that had up until now been held in the inky abyss.

Boards. Lights. A stage that was bright and flashy, and covered in a multitude of colors and joy. Pink was the primary color, but there were many other flashy colors decorating the entire thing. It looked like something that people would love to be seen on. On one side, there was a stylized meter, decorated with tons of flowers of all kind speaking of hope, luck, and love. At its base, a microphone was attached to it, facing out towards the audience. Various curtains of silken red draped down tastefully, hiding the people and props that were upon it in a sea of crimson.

Before the stand, sat a crowd. An unusual crowd. An audience comprised of bears, each one half black, half white. They held upon them many items of memorabilia, shirts claiming their faith, flags with phrases of love and support, wigs resembling the artist's appearance, and other such items to proclaim how much they cared, each one a symbol of their adoration for the one they had come to see. Though no words could be heard, the crowd roared in delight as they watched the curtains pull aside, revealing the sight of the one they had all come to witness. The person they had taken time out of their lives to come see and cheer for.

When the curtains had finished leaving, the house lights turned on, each in attendance focused on the one on stage with high intensity rivaling the hype of the crowd. Their she stood, a girl, with tresses a deep blue and eyes too. Skin that was fair and light, every inch perfect, not a blemish in sight. Her outfit, a dress, was pink and frilly, it showed off her stomach, shoulders, and neck. On her feet, matching boots designed to be used for dancing. A beautiful picture, had her face not been marred by her pensive scowl.

Her expression was justified, for more than one reason. She had not come to this stage of her free will. She had no love to put into this performance. No desire to see these fans. No love for this stage that she would be preforming on.

It didn't help matters that she was standing inside of a massive open bear trap, one large enough that it could easily clamp over her neck should she mistakenly activate its mechanism.

The rules were plain as day. Dance, sing, preform to the best of your ability in this space, show off your best and wow the crowd. Or die. She was trapped, held here to dance a dance she didn't want to save her own life from the jam-packed stadium she did not want to be with.

Yet still, when the music began and she could hear the rising of the unseen orchestra, she sang. She sang beautifully. Her voice betrayed her desires to stay quiet. Though she did not know the words, they continued to poor out of her mouth, a song of loss, of pain, of suffering. She couldn't stop now if she wanted.

So, she didn't.

She continued to dance, to sing out her soul for these monsters, to show them that she was worth saving. Her passion, it showed as she put her all into every action, every pose. It did not matter that she didn't have her girls with her right now, the band that she loved so much. She was the star here, the one that they were clamoring for. She would survive this, she would win.

Then, there was a sound. A click sound like a switch being pressed. Then, there was pain.

A scream tore its way from her throat as her legs gave out from the sheer agony that ran up that limb. Her eyes, still wet from her tears, snapped to look at what had caused her to hurt so much.

A trap. A metal jaw for holding powerful wildlife had bitten deep into her ankle. It was coated, stained, in her life-giving fluids. Said liquid was flowing to the ground, free of her wishes for it to stop. She tried to reach for the metallic maw, both to remove the offending object and to stop it from biting deeper into her flesh.

There were jeers now, mixed in with the slowly dying cheers.

She did not sing. She could not dance. She did not perform.

She did not want this. She didn't want to use her talents for these beasts. She did not care want they wanted of her. She would not be their toy to play with.

She underestimated their desires.

From above the stage, a figure stood. It was tall, taller than anything she had known. Its appearance? Human. Lanky. That was what could be seen. The rest, covered in shadows.

Its eyes, unseen, were covered in a pair of glasses that shown like spotlights that blinded those that tried to see past them.

It its right hand, a controller. A wooden cross for puppetry. A symbol of the toy's lack of true will or control over its own existence. It was held in a tight grip, unwilling to let go.

In its left hand, a matching pair, held just as tightly.

Attached to the wood, wires. Razor thin, they each reached down, down, down, attached to bands. These bands, they were attached to her. On her arms, her legs, her hips, her neck.

Its intentions were clear. If she would not perform willingly, she would do so without her consent.

The figure's hands, they flicked, they moved, making the controller dance. In turn, the wires made her follow along, helpless. The crowd cheered at her moves, sung when she twirled, praised when she pirouettes, raved when she sways. They loved the recital. They love her.

Tears, they poured from her eyes as she was bent against her desires. Forced to dance and sing for a power she could not comprehend. For people, none she could love.

A voice, it came to her, but it made no sense to her mind. " **˙sᴉɥʇ oʇ pɐǝl suoᴉʇɔɐ ɹno** **sᴉɥʇ doʇs ʇ,uɐɔ no** **uoᴉʇdɯǝpǝɹ ɟo ǝlqɐdɐɔ ǝɹɐ noʎ ʞuᴉɥʇ no** **ʎ** **¿** **sᴉɥʇ doʇs uɐɔ noʎ ʞuᴉɥʇ ʎllɐǝɹ noʎ pᴉp** "

She couldn't understand the words said to her, nor could she understand where they came from. It was like they came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Yet, she still felt afraid.

The wires went tight, forcing her to stand. The crowd, how they cheered to see her rise again. They paid no mind to her injuries, they didn't care about them. They were here to see her dance, they came to see her sing.

They could care less about her.

The bar at the side of the stage, slowly it raised in response to the cheers. The lights, they danced with her, showing her moves off in more tasteful ways and hiding the wires holding her up.

With the object clamped to her leg, her moves were no longer as streamlined, not as smooth. Every time she was forced to step on the limb, every time she swung it just a little, she nearly collapsed from the complete agony shooting through it. This was torture, worst then anything she had ever thought she would ever experience. But she was held up by these wires that she could not break, held by the shadowy figure

Then there was another click. Her eyes widened before they clamped shut from another lance of pain that rocked her world. She was held up this time, the wires forcing her to continue, but she knew what had happened. Another trap, this time on her other leg, gnawed at her once uninjured limb mercilessly as she was forced to continue. It made her head woozy from the increasing loss of her vital liquids, and it was only getting worst as time went on.

The crowd merely continued to roar, their excitement driving out any worry they felt for her. The measure continued to rise in response, their cheers fueling its accent. It could not care what they sang their praises, all it cared for was the results, and those results were rising.

As it neared its peak, things started to slow. The cheers were starting to lessen, the girl was starting to falter more and more, even the shadow had started to slacken. She could barely move now, her legs felt like they were on fire. Her heart hurt from trying to pump so much blood to the mangled limbs. She was lightheaded from the reduced amount of oxygen reaching her brain. She felt nauseous, her stomach churning as it tried to go into overdrive to replace the missing fluids and proteins, but failed to do so since there was nothing to digest. She thought she couldn't feel any worst.

She was wrong.

The wires went taught again, forcing her to stand. Her legs cried out as they were forced to support her weight.

Then, it happened. The sound of a much larger click, the snapping of a trap slamming closed.

The feeling of her throat being crushed.

She gagged, fighting to breathe through her crushed windpipe. Her hands, they reached up between the teeth of the massive trap that was clamped tight into her neck. The metal fangs of the jaw were embedded in the delicate flesh, drawing even more of the plasma enriched fluid from her. Her fingers struggled to grip the moistened teeth, her strength failing her as she lost more of her energy. With every second, her body went weaker as it tried to stop this.

Then, she heard it. The cheers that had faded, they had come back, but now they were louder. The fans that had come to watch the show were cheering even more enthusiastically then before, the measure rose to their screams of joy. They were enthralled it this spectacle, in this deadly show. They loved her screams, her pain, her suffering. Then realization hit her hard.

They weren't here because they loved her. They weren't here to see her dance, to sing, to give her heart to them. They could care less about that.

They only wanted to see her die.

She had been too distracted; the realization had taken too much attention from her. The teeth of the jaw slipped through her moist fingers. They slammed shut.

The meter finished filling. The cheers died. The lights went down.

The only sound was a moist "Thunk".

The final performance of Sayaka Maizono had finished.

Then there was only darkness.

Dark.

Dark…

A light, single but bright, it lit up in a cone. In it, a pole, a single pipe stood vertically in the center. Attached to it, a man, a boy, a teen with hair spiked and red. A tuft of it stuck out of his chin, just under his quivering lip.

Fear, it coated his pale blue eyes. His hands, they quivered as they gripped the metal band wrapped around his throat, a matching set held his hips and ankles suspended in the air and attached to the rod. There was no escape for him from whatever lay before him.

More lights turned on. A stadium, no, a batting cage deigned to look like a baseball stadium. There were large arrays of lights all around hanging well above the ground that lit up the whole place, leaving very little room for any darkness to settle. Behind the red-headed teen was an electronic score board that would measure how the baseball teams were doing; though there would never be a game for this terrible arena. Even if the sheer amount of lights prevented the shade from reaching the center of the batting diamond, the twenty-foot cage circled around oppressively, each part reaching inward like claws ready to grasp at their prey.

The boy was pale, ashen as the snow was white. With the harsh lighting on his form, his every pore and imperfection in his skin were illuminated. Every drop of sweat practically glowed as they poured down his face and clammy hands. His eyes, though use to these kinds of lights, were clenched tightly as he strained to remove the clamp gripping tightly against his throat; not enough to cut off his air or circulation, but enough that he couldn't hope to get away.

But the thing that stood out the most was the item standing before him emitting a massive amount of smoke. A large ball launcher, a pitching machine that had been heavily modified with a much larger then strictly necessary container for balls, and a massive nozzle to funnel to balls out. Had he a bat, he could have maybe used this to practice his batting for a long time.

But he had no bat, and he was not going to get one. For, unlike a proper batting cage, this pitcher was not for fun and training. No, this one was aimed very carefully.

Right at his struggling body.

His heart nearly stopped when two figures walked up to the dangerously designed device, one smaller than the other by a significant amount. The smaller one, a plush looking bear that was split down the center into a black and white form. Upon its head, a cap, like those that he would see in a ball game sat prominently between his little ears. In its right hand and resting on its shoulder, a silver bat gleamed in the beams of light filling the stage.

The other figure, unknown. Despite the abundance of bright light on their form, their features could not be seen through the shadows that seemed to cling unnaturally to their body like ink or tar. Only one thing could be noticed, a pair of glasses, standard looking and cheap, the lenses glowing even brighter than the hundreds of bulbs around them. Yet, even though they could not be seen, the teen could feel a sense of malice in this shade's eyes, a feeling of malevolence that looked deeply into his soul and saw every sin that he had committed.

Sins that it wanted him to suffer for.

Most ominously of this creature of shadows that was untouched by the light was what it carried in its right hand. It was a ball. A simple little baseball with red stitching holding the faux leather together. But the thing that made the ball such a thing to worry about was the thing scrawled onto the white surface.

A name. _His_ name.

Leon Kuwata.

Tossing the ball into the air almost casually, the shadowy creature spoke. " **˙noʎ ɹoɟ uoᴉʇdɯǝpǝɹ ou sᴉ ǝɹǝɥʇ 'oN ¿oɹǝɥ ɟo puᴉʞ ǝɯos ǝɹ'noʎ ǝʞᴉl ɯǝɥʇ ƃuᴉdlǝɥ ʎq ǝuop pɐɥ noʎ ʇɐɥʍ xᴉɟ oʇ ǝlqɐ ǝq plnoʍ noʎ ʇɐɥʇ ʞuᴉɥʇ noʎ pᴉp ˙ǝɟᴉl ɹǝƃɐǝɯ ɐ ǝʌɐs ƃuᴉdlǝɥ ʎq suᴉs ɹnoʎ ǝʇɐuᴉɯᴉlǝ plnoɔ noʎ ʇɐɥʇ ʞuᴉɥʇ noʎ pᴉp** "

There was no sense in the words, but the actions it made were worst then any word could be said. The creature tossed the ball into the air. Without looking away from the ball player, he flipped open the lid of the pitching device containing the baseballs. With a solid "Thunk", the airborne ball fell into the bin. The balls that had previously been lodged in rolled down the metal rack to the distributor.

The bear turned and pointed the bat at the ball player dramatically. They said something, but it was unheard over the machine next to him roaring to life. There was a loud plunking sound as the first of the balls shot out at blinding speed. With a sickening smack, it collided with the poor boy's unprotected abdomen. The teen screamed as the air in his stomach was forcefully ejected from his body, but it was ignored by his oppressors.

His lungs desperately tried to compensate for the sudden loss of air, but the effort was in vain as another ball collided with his already bruised body. Spittle flew from his mouth as the impact robbed him of his breath and left him coughing and choking. The machine did not care for his suffering in the slightest, unable to do so due to its lack of any sentiment. It merely fired another ball, this one impacting his chest with a horrifying crack. More than likely, that one had broken a rib or two if it hadn't outright shattered them and left a bruise behind.

The boy was in so much pain, the first few shots already doing a significant amount of damage to him. His lungs burned as they fought to reclaim the breath that had been stolen from him. He was petrified, frozen with fear of this tool that he knew so well as was expected of him. He stared at it with terror filled eyes as his mind told him the information of what he was being shot with. The force behind each ball, the speed that they were heading, the density of the sphere. He knew them all perfectly.

And it only made it more terrifying.

There was an ominous click that came from the pitcher, a sign that something had changed dramatically. The next ball came, slamming into his arm, but he didn't have time to register it before another on hit him in the opposite shoulder. And then another to his left bicep. Then one to his side.

Within a second, these had all hit him, the speed of the tool having jumped up drastically. It was for a specific reason. As interesting as it would be to see him suffer through each ball, there simply wasn't enough time for that. He would have either passed out from the pain before it could finish, or die before it was done emptying its load all over him. So, it upped the pace.

As if it was a gun built for assault instead of a tool for honing skill, it started to fire even faster. Ball after ball slammed into his body rapidly, each one hitting like a miniature truck each time. Harder and harder they crash into him until he could barely tell which one was hitting what part. His body screamed for freedom from this hell, his lungs begged and fought for air, but they went unheard over the roars of the device of his demise, and the orbs being pitched at him.

For a solid minute, he was pelted. At some point the wheels on the stands holding the pitching device had started to bring it around him, allowing it to strike him from other angles. It orbited his body, repeatedly pounding away at his body with the dozens upon dozens of the round objects. Every part of his body that could be hit by the horrifying contraption was nailed indiscriminately of its location and was left with a disgusting looking bruise.

Yet he was still alive. All over his body hurt, every part that wouldn't lead to instant death had been mercilessly bombarded. His bones, though cracked or shattered caused every nerve to be alight with pain throughout his body. Even when it took shots at his head, the device avoided the weakest parts of his skull.

But that would soon change.

The pitcher pulled to a stop. Its cannon steaming from the friction of so many balls passing through so rapidly and the heat it caused. It sputtered once, as if choking on one of the many balls that had fired from it. For a second the blooded boy hoped that it was done, that there would be no more fired on his broken body.

It was not to be.

With a final sputter, the pitching machine coughed up one final ball aimed directly at his head. As if it were moving in slow motion, the battered boy watched in horror as it flew. On it, he noticed the name that had been written on this one, identifying it as one the shade had been holding before. For a mere millisecond, he hoped it was just like the others that had been launched at him so far.

Then, the ball made a click sound. Taking even less time than it took to blink, a series of sharpened spikes jutted out of the white ball. Each one was about an inch long and looked like they were coated in some kind of dark liquid. Each one was spaced in a way to maximize the damage done when it collided with something, where ever it hit.

That was the last thing the boy saw before the lights went out.

It was the only time he would play the game of one thousand and one blows.

Dark.

Darker.

The darkened room grew ever darker than before.

The inky darkness encompassed everything; a murky gloom that held everything in its shadowy grasp.

Another light, it cut through the gloom. Inside it, a man, grungy and dressed like a hobo with locks of hair styled reminiscent of a sea-urchin. His body, trembling where it stood as he looked across the room.

The cause of his terror. Three doors. Each was separated in a pattern reminiscent of a triangle that he stood in the epicenter of. Their color, a blood soaked red with an ominous black number scratched into each one designating them as 1, 2, and 3. On the top of the frames, a depiction of a bear, half white half black, the dark side holding a jagged red eye.

The rules were clear. Pick a door and pray you were correct. The right door let you walk free, the others led to a gruesome demise. Luck of the draw.

His gaze wandered up seeing past the doors and into the gloom. He shivered at the sight that he could only deem as, "supernatural". A figure with glasses aglow despite the shadows that coated him. Their gaze, while unseen, reeked of murderous intent should the man attempt anything to displease them. It certainly didn't help that the figure was holding a rifle in its hand that gleamed ever so slightly in the reflected light.

It motioned to the man. It wanted him to get a move on. And if he did, any attempt to move for anything other than opening the doors, they would shoot.

There was something the figure said, but the man could not understand. " **˙ǝlzznd sᴉɥʇ oʇ sǝɔǝᴉd ǝɥʇ ɟo ʎuɐ ǝʌɐɥ ʎlǝɹɐq no** **ʞuᴉɥʇ noʎ sɐ llǝʍ sɐ ǝldoǝd ʍouʞ ʇ'uop no** **˙ǝ** **ɹnʇnɟ ǝɥʇ ǝǝs oʇ ʎʇᴉlᴉqɐ ou ǝʌɐɥ noʎ ˙ƃuoɹʍ ǝɹ'no** **dn puǝ llᴉʍ sʇuǝʌǝ ǝɹǝɥʍ ʍouʞ noʎ ʇɐɥʇ 'uǝddɐɥ llᴉʍ ʇɐɥʍ ǝǝsǝɹoɟ uɐɔ noʎ ʇɐɥʇ ʞuᴉɥʇ no** **ʎ** "

Swallowing a lump in this throat, the unshaven man looked back to the doors worriedly. Which one was the right door that would save him from this hell? He only wished he knew.

Nervously, he reached into the pocket of his large coat, moving slow, so, as to not anger the dark spirit watching him. It watched as he held up the contents of the pocket and raised it up to show what it was.

A ball. A ball made of crystal, said to have been held by the greatest powers the world had ever known. With this, he hoped to predict the outcome of each choice. The figure nodded slightly, allowing him the opportunity to try and predict the outcome of his choices.

Raising his hand, the man waved it over the clear ball as he turned to look through it in front of each door. For each door, he gave a good hard look, constantly considering the sphere with each pass. He spent his time with it, knowing that any mistake would lead to disaster should he get it wrong.

After a while, he nodded. He looked nervous still, but as he stared at door 1, he felt confident. Stepping forth, he grasped the door knob firmly. He hesitated though.

That hesitation saved him.

A sudden burst of fire leapt forth, knocking the hinges off as the door was blown away. The man screamed and ducked under the roaring heat, the flames licking at his flesh and burning a chunk of his hair away. He scrambled back in fear, patting away the fires that had developed on his clothes as he did so.

Had he opened the door sooner, he would have taken the entire thing to his face. His flesh and bone would have been eaten alive and left him nothing more than a charred cadaver.

He shivered in terror. This was no joke. This was a real attempt on his life that was made just now. And if he wanted to survive, he would have to try the other doors as well.

He looked around the ground, looking for the ball that would help him predict the outcome of this trial, only to recoil at the sight of its state. It had shattered, a solid chunk of it broken into tiny little shards on the ground. The ball he had been promised was indestructible was now destroyed.

His heart sank. His best resource was gone, shattered into a million pieces. He gulped as he felt the stare of the shade on his back, its gaze like icy daggers against his soul. He only had one more trick and two more doors to choose from.

He was slow to stand, his knees knocking as he tried to stand again. It took some time, his fear hindering his movements, but he managed to stand up again and reach into his other pocket to pull out a deck of cards.

Tarot cards to be precise.

Though not his preferred method, these cards were also one of his methods to predict the future as well. Taking these cards, he began shuffling, praying for this method to work. He pulled three, and placed them down. They were, the Devil, the Hanged man, and Death. The first was reversed, the rest were not.

Swallowing in a bit of fear, the man made his decision. He moved towards the number three door, cautiously in case he was wrong again, and slowly opened it. It creaked ominously as it opened, but it seemed to be the right choice and he was about to sigh in relief…

Then, there was a revving sound.

The seer almost didn't get the door closed in time as several miniguns began firing at the door from inside the room. Hundreds of rounds of bullet fire slammed into the wood and when one broke through to clip his ear, the man dropped in response, instinctively curling into a fetal positon to minimize the amount of space he occupied. With luck, he managed to avoid the fire even when shards of wood went flying as the metal projectiles plowed into, and occasionally through, the thick wood. After a time, the bullets stopped and the only sounds heard were the dropping of used casings clattering to the ground, and the miserable sobs of the horrified man.

He cried in despair, too afraid to stand again in the presence of such terror. Twice now his methods had failed him and he had no desire to tempt fate again; despite there only being one door left. Every part of his being, from his brain running on adrenaline to his stressed-out heart, all the way down to his toes, they told him to stay away from that last door. They begged him to run, flee from this place and damn the consequences, but that ghostly figure terrified him just as much, if not more. They were just as lethal as anything that could be behind that door, and would be far more accurate to boot.

So, his only option that he could see was to remain where he was.

It was his undoing.

The final door, unheard over the tears of the man, started to creek and groan as it began to part in the center. Despite the wooden nature of the gateway, the thing began to shift and move, becoming even more horrifying as jagged knife like teeth began to force their way through the splintered center. No longer resembling a door, it now looked more reminiscent of a nightmarish maw made in the pits of Hades for the sole purpose of consuming all hope.

And it was hungry.

From the dark pit of its core, a long, disgusting coil burst forth between those gruesome fangs and snaked its way across the room to the weeping man. It wrapped around the man's ankle, so tight it was that the man choked on his next sob before the long appendage pulled tight and lifted his body high in the air. Just when the man began to fear that it would simply drop him, letting his body hit the ground to become a macabre stain on the ground, it began to swiftly reel him in like a fish on a hook.

However, that was too tame for this monster disguised as a not-so-common door. Too quick. So just as his legs were breaching the threshold of its massive maw, it reeled up.

And clamped down hard.

A scream tore through the room as the man felt his knees shatter between the massive fangs, the bone flesh and joints being completely mangled in these merciless teeth of a monster mimicking a common item. The pain of the injury was heightened by the long slick tongue like object pulling on his heel. But then it pulled back up, the teeth removed themselves form his legs for moment, each one now stained in his life-giving fluids, changing them from the white color it had been.

However, this still wasn't enough. The slippery thing began to pull again, causing another shriek of agony from the man as he was dragged up and further in. then it clamped down again, this time on his pelvis, the bone shattering under the force. The process repeated, the screams continuing with each step taken. This time, they dug into his gut, the fangs puncturing several organs along with severing the joints in his spine. Then again on his chest, the ribs holding out for but a second before giving way, crushing his lungs and robbing him of his ability to breath.

He sputtered and coughed, his lungs trying to fill with life giving oxygen, but the new holes in the collapsed organs prevented it. It would have been merciful if his heart had suffered the same fate, but in the cruelest of irony, the fangs missed allowing him to live just long enough to watch the fangs line up over his neck.

And then he saw no more.

His prediction, had come true in the end.

The shade stood alone.

Alone in the dark it stood, the only light being what reflected off their glasses from an unknown light source.

There was silence as it turned away, tossing away the glass tool it had been holding and allowing it to shatter on the ground, uselessly. The tool had served its purpose; it was no longer needed. There would always be more things to use, at a later date.

It took a few steps, its pace casual and uncaring, as if it was going on an everyday stroll; as if it had not witnessed horrible tragedies. It reached up with its hand, grabbing something in its hand. It pulled, revealing another door, unseeing in this inky abyss, this hollow vacuum of emptiness. It stepped through the door, uncaring about its brightness, the white light that poured out into the black room.

Then it turned back.

" **˙dn ǝʞɐʍ 'ʍoN ˙oʞunſ sǝɹɐɯʇɥƃᴉu ǝɥʇ ʎoɾuƎ** " They closed the door.

Then I woke up screaming.


	17. Morning's aftermath of Despair

"What…What the heck…?"

I panted, my breath ragged and shaky as I tried to comprehend what I had seen. My heart was pounding rapidly against my ribs as my hands shook in terror, the adrenaline pumping through my veins felt like ice in my blood. Sweat poured down my face, cooling the heated flesh where my blood was unable to affect.

The images, even though they had passed by long ago I could still see them so vividly as if I was looking straight at them. Sayaka… Hiro… Leon… All of them. Executed, killed, murdered in cold blood in the cruelest ways I could have perceived. Horrible, disgusting deaths that should never have been imagined, let alone implemented.

And that figure. That cold, heartless shade that had done that to them. It had been ever so terrifying to witness, the way the shadows just wrapped around it like a wispy cloak that defied all rules I knew of that didn't revolve around realms fantasy. The way light just seemed to refuse to touch it, it was unnatural. And those eyes.

I had to remind myself repeatedly that it was just a dream.

I found myself curling up in my bed, my arms wrapped around myself as if to protect me from the horrors as I laid back down on my mattress. The darkness of the room felt stifling, oppressive. An overwhelming feeling of repression that made my empty space never feel more claustrophobic. Were it not for the red lighten numbers of the analog clock, the room would have been in complete darkness. I was for more okay with it then normal on that reason alone.

My body racked with sobs, my eyes stinging from unshed tears. That nightmare. It had been the worst thing I had ever had the misfortune of witnessing. Normally, I was unable to remember these dreams or night horrors. But this. This one made sure I wouldn't be forgetting it any time soon.

It had been so vivid, so detailed. Every sound sung in my ears as if I was there, every scent as if I could truly smell it in front of me.

And the blood, oh god, the blood. I was use to the sight of blood in games, so much so that I barely bat an eye at any gory title that passes my way. There was usually something else going on so I just tended to ignore it. In real-life, I was only okay with it if I had something else to focus on, like when I had been patching up Sayaka and Hiro. Both times, I could ignore becoming squeamish since I knew what would happen if I didn't. I could focus exclusively on the methods needed to save them, rather than the blood itself.

This time, I had no barrier to hide behind. There was nothing I could use as a filter to stop my horror; it was in my face and the only thing that I could focus on if I wasn't going to keep my eyes locked on the carnage. Every moment was a gruesome horror show that just got progressively worst.

If I had a choice, I would have just stayed in bed the whole day, just trying to get rid of the disturbing images from my mind. Unfortunately, I could not.

Not only was my side starting to develop bed sores, but my stomach was realizing that I was awake and was demanding sustenance, regardless of my minds turmoil. I wanted to ignore it, to just go back to bed and sleep till I was over the nightmare that haunted me. But, my body was persistent, so with a heavy sigh, I shakily pushed myself up and glanced at the clock to get my bearings.

I then groaned as I realized that, "…It's fricking five in the morning…"

* * *

All was silent in the room of one Makoto Naegi.

Everything was quiet, from the door to his bathroom to the very bed he lay upon. The only sound that could be heard was the soft breaths of the rooms occupant as he lay on his bed, unmoving aside the methodical rise and fall of his chest. His eyes blinked slowly, but his focus was not on the roof above his head, nor anything specific in the room itself. No, his mind was focused on a memory.

Specifically, of yesterday's events post trial.

As Monokuma had said, everyone had made their votes to decide what would happen to Sayaka since her crime had been revealed. When he had opened his eyes to see the result he had to admit that he hadn't expected it to go where it had.

In last place with the neutral votes were Chihiro, Hifumi, and Celeste of all people. The first two just couldn't get up the nerve to do anything to Sayaka, no matter how bad it was. They were sympathetic of her actions, though they detested them, and understood the reasons behind them. They were soft hearted though, and couldn't bare the guilt that they would have felt if they had to punish her, nor could they stomach the idea of letting Monokuma execute her. So, they decided to play it safe and stay neutral.

No one could blame them for it.

When asked later, the gambler would refuse to comment on her choice, choosing to stay silent. Makoto could only guess what her reasoning would be, not yet close enough with her that he could know her thoughts. He figured that she might have similar reasons to that of Hifumi and Chihiro, but he couldn't be sure until she decides to tell him herself.

The next held the votes of Toko, Hiro, and Mondo. The writer and the biker stayed by their decisions, unwavering in their conviction and belief. They had been subjected to many dark looks and scathing remarks, but they stayed firm. They didn't want to risk her betraying them again.

Hiro would later state that he had forgotten which flag he was holding in each hand from the nerves, but no one believed him. They saw the way he looked at Sayaka when he thought they weren't looking. They knew he was just afraid that she would come after him again, even though she had admitted it was an accident when she was asked. There hadn't been any intent to harm him, he was just unlucky.

He stayed silent at that, but his refusal to lower his flag said more than enough for the others.

Finally, there were the votes of Byakuya, Sakura, Kyoko, Hina, Taka, Makoto, and finally Leon. They had all voted black, winning the vote. Sayaka would continue to live with them, though with more restrictions put on her until they could feel her trustworthy again.

As Monokuma had told them, the ones who voted white were sent back to the elevator to await the other's verdict along with Sayaka. The neutral voters were given the option to stay and watch, but they all decided to wait the others. With a little help from Sakura and Mondo, Sayaka and Hiro's wheelchairs were collected and they were escorted to the elevator to wait.

After that, the twisted bear told them that they were to decide on what happened to her next. The problem was that, at this point, everyone was unable to focus. They were all mentally exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster that was the whole day. Tensions were already high as well, so when it began to dissolve into a shouting match, mostly between Taka and Leon over whether she should be locked away or simply being given an escort, there was no surprise felt by anyone.

Several times, Sakura or Kyoko had to dissuade the two in their bickering, either through stern words from the latter, or the threat of being forced to contend with the former in a brawl. These threats were the only thing that could keep them calm, but that didn't stop the squabbling from coming up again occasionally. It didn't help that Byakuya was firmly on Taka's side in all of this while Hina was with Leon on the matter. With Sakura and Kyoko so focused on keeping the arguing from developing into a blood bath, it ended up falling onto Makoto to be the compromiser in all of this.

His thought was to combine the two into a different yet still punishing move. She would be allowed to attend meal times and free time with an escort or two during the day, but would be barricaded in her room at night to prevent her from trying something. That would make it impossible for her to attack anyone during the day, while also making it impossible for her to sneak around at night.

In hindsight, it was a little bit crueler then he had intended. He had wanted it to make it so that he could still talk to her during the day to try and help her recover from the emotional baggage that helped cause her to fall to such a low that she felt that murdering someone was a good idea. He had meant to make it sound like he wanted everyone to help contribute as well. And he had said as much too.

However, Byakuya had chimed in stating that, while he was fine with letting her join them for meals, provided that she never be allowed in the kitchen on the grounds she might try to take a knife again, or attempt to poison someone's meal, he would not accept her being allowed to wander between meals. When asked, and after verbally insulting their intelligence for having to ask, he claimed that would be giving her too much freedom to stab them in the back again.

Makoto tried to defend her, claiming that she would never do that after all that had happened, but the affluent prodigy was unmoved. What's more, Hina and Taka had agreed with Byakuya as well. Hina had been unable to look him in the eyes as she admitted that she was still scared after all that had happened. Sayaka, though not close to her as she had spent most of the time with Makoto, had been someone she saw as a friend and to know that the idol had snuck a knife past her so easily terrified her immensely. She didn't want to be afraid, but she couldn't stop herself from shivering whenever she thought about it.

Taka's reasoning was much more justice focused, stating that he thought she should be made to understand the full ramification of her actions. While he agreed that she should join them for the morning meetings so that she could be kept up to date on the affairs, he felt she would never learn if she can go wherever she pleases, escort or no.

Kyoko, though stating it would have to be temporary, agreed as well. She said that it wouldn't be wise to allow her to do as she pleases anyway since she was still injured and recovering. If left to her own devices right now, there would be a risk that she could either attack someone, or more likely, be attacked herself. Sayaka had nearly killed someone and gotten them all killed in the process. There was a risk that someone might try and return the favor if she was left alone.

Leon and Sakura had been with him on that not being entirely fair, but they reluctantly agreed if it would be a better idea to keep her safe, so long as the punishment would be lightened over time as she proved her trust worthiness. There had been some grumbling about the decision, but the agreement was set and with Monokuma's approval, there was nothing else that could be done.

Looking back, he realized that he could have done more. Pushed a little harder, maybe used better logic to get her a fair chance. Anything at all would have helped as far as he was concerned.

Instead, he let his fatigue get to him and let the matter drop. He just was not able to push any harder. The only thing he managed to change was who would be responsible for watching over her.

Originally, Sakura and Mondo were the choice. Both were incredibly strong and would be able to stop her should she try anything. However, Makoto got that to stop by pointing out that Mondo's "no hurting women" code of honor would make it difficult for him to keep a proper hold on her. And while Sakura wouldn't have such problems, it would be difficult for her to keep an eye on Sayaka all the time with her exercise schedule. While this was a bit of a stretch, Sakura claimed that it was true, though she had hesitated at first, as if she only caught on to his desires midway through her sentence.

With that taken care of, Byakuya insisted that someone be assigned the task before he nominates someone himself. For a moment, Makoto was going to volunteer instantly. She had been his assistant after all, and she had used his room to try and commit her crime. Plus, he was already sort of her guardian because of his promise to protect her. It had just made sense to him.

Surprisingly, the one who spoke up first was one none of them had expected.

" _I'll do it."_

 _All eyes wandered over to the one who spoke, confusion or suspicion coating the expressions of the group as they turned to look at the one interrupted Makoto. Byakuya spoke up incredulously with a raised brow. "You? Why would you want to be responsible for her after all of this?"_

 _Leon, against all odds, looked him dead in the eye in response. "Just here me out, okay? She attacked me, right? Not you, not Mondo, not Sakura, me. I think I should be the one to watch over her."_

 _At first, none of them knew how to respond to that. Yes, he had been the one to be attacked first, but Hiro had been harmed physically by her and she had hurt all of them emotionally with her actions. Why then was he the one who would be the one to guard her?_

 _However, before anyone could comment on it, there was a chuckle from Byakuya as a devious smirk made its way onto his face. "Interesting. And with the two of you together at all times, if one of you turns up dead, then we'll instantly have a suspect. It also doubles as further punishment for her as well."_

" _How do you figure?" questioned Hina, not seeing where he was going with this. He scoffed at her naivete in response, and gave her a tilted head back look of superiority. "Is it not obvious? If she is honestly as apologetic as she claims, then Leon's constant presence will be a continual reminder of her guilt and will prevent her from forgetting all that had happened. If not, then he will be a reminder of her failure to escape. Either way, she won't be able to simply avoid him or the memories of her actions. A fitting punishment, if I must say."_

 _That did seem to be for the best as it wouldn't be likely that she could do anything to him again since he would know beforehand if she was trying anything. With her guilt weighing her down like that, it was unlikely that there would be too much of a problem from her._

 _However, Makoto still wanted to put his hat in the ring. "Hold on guys. Maybe I should be the one to watch over her."_

" _Huh?" Leon replied, confusion plastered all over his face as well as a little indignation. "Hey, come on man. You don't think I can do it?"_

" _No, that's not what I'm saying." Makoto refuted, not wanting to insult the redhead, but unwilling to retract his statement. "It's just that, Sayaka and I were close, closer then Leon is with her. I have more of an understanding of how she'll react if pushed now, so I'll be able to stop her if she tries something again."_

 _Byakuya gave him a completely unmoved look in response. "Really now? And I suppose you believe that you would be capable of risking her life should she try anything?"_

"… _! T-That's…!"_

" _If you'll recall, this entire case only started because Sayaka was able to convince you that you were trying to protect her. Because of that, you were nearly convicted of a crime you hadn't committed and we all would have been killed had she succeeded. She already had her talons dug into you before, and you never realized it until far too late. If we were to let you oversee her, what guaranty do we have that this wouldn't be the case again?"_

" _I-I…" He tried so desperately to say something to defend himself, to deny that he wouldn't even think to let something like that happen, but he couldn't. Even now, after all the pain and heartache she had forced him to endure from her betrayal, a part of him still trusted her. He knew he wouldn't be able to force her to stand down should she try again._

 _Byakuya closed his eyes, smugly smirking at his success against the luckster. "That's what I thought. In any case, while I highly doubt Leon would be the most trustworthy individual for this, he is the only one here that makes sense to give this responsibility."_

" _Yea-Hey!" Leon shouted, realizing mid agreement that he'd been insulted. "The hell do you mean by that!?"_

 _The rich boy merely scoffed before turning to regard the ball-player with a stern glare that caused a slight shiver to run down Leon's spine. "You really have to ask."_

 _It had been worded as a question, but it was clear that he wasn't asking. "You still haven't revealed the name of the person that assisted in Sayaka and Yasuhiro's revival. Even after Monokuma told us that withholding it any further would be pointless."_

" _I-I…Well, I mean…That isn't…" Leon stammered to try and come up with and excuse for himself, but Byakuya's deliberate distrust had caught him off guard. No, it wasn't just that. It was also the look of pure disdain that the prodigy threw his way. The ball player was use to thing being thrown at him, both balls and looks of jealousy from his less talented co-ball players, but this was far too different from the norm that he couldn't properly form a rebuttal._

" _As far as I am concerned, your trustworthiness is irrelevant. If you truly wish to make up for your disregard, you will carry out your sentence and keep Sayaka from acting out again." With that, Byakuya turn away, uncaring about whatever other reason or excuses Leon could possibly come up with to defend himself, or Makoto's reasoning's._

" _Perhaps that would be best." Agreed Sakura, though it had been said with a fair amount of reluctance in her tone. It was clear to the others that she didn't fully agree, but since no one was offering a better idea, she would follow the other's. Yet, there was clearly something that bothered her. "However, there is a matter I feel we have neglected."_

 _The others looked at her in confusion. What could they have forgotten to take care of?_

" _And what perchance is that?" Byakuya inquired, brow raised ever so slightly._

" _I must inquire, what is to be done about Junko?"_

In the end, no one had any idea as to what to do about the injured fashion deva. None of them were licensed doctors, nor were any of them trained to help with that kind of injury. Even Leon, who seemed to at the least know how to patch her up, admitted to knowing next to nothing about helping someone recover from this sort of thing. In the end, it was Monokuma of all people who had intervened, stating, "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much. I have a medical professional on standby who'll help her get back on her feet. Well, if she's cooperative that is."

It had been suspicious of him to make such an offer, especially since this was the first time they had even heard of there being anyone of such qualifications. It only got more dubious when he claimed that it would all be done over the phone, something that the school had been sorely lacking in thus far. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything they could do as, once he claimed that the same curtesy would be extended for all of them who survive a class trial, the bear fled the scene, leaving them with nothing but questions and frustrations as they were forced to head back to the elevator or risk being left behind.

However, just before he had reached it, Kyoko had stopped Makoto with a gentle tug on the wrist.

Even now, he could remember their conversation, how she had said that he should put all of this behind him, push past all the tragedy of Sayaka's actions and move on. His response still rung it his ears. " _I can't do that. To just forget all that they had done, their reasons for doing it. I still don't blame Sayaka, or Leon, or anyone else. Even though no one died, we're still being held here against our will. Monokuma is the reason all of this happened, so to move past what they did would be just like saying that they had wanted to do it in the first place, like he hadn't pushed them into a corner. The mastermind wants that. So, instead, I'm going to hold on to these memories always. I'll bare the weight…and I'll push forward!_ "

Those words still rung true in his mind as his fist clenched at his sides. That was what he had said, and he had meant every word of it. And if they had died, he honestly felt that he would have done the same thing. Holding onto their memory as he pushed forward through this despair.

But still, there was one thing that worried him. After they had all returned to the main floors, in had almost been nighttime, so it was decided that they would head to the food court for a quick final meeting. Byakuya had opted out, claiming that he would need to rest up to prepare himself, though he hadn't stated exactly _what_ he was preparing for which while concerning, was becoming something very expectant of him. Toko followed, claiming she didn't want to be anywhere near someone who would try and attack her in her sleep, and it was very clear who she was talking about. Hifumi, Mondo, and Hiro were next, all claiming that they were going to hit the hay, yet even he could tell that it wasn't just fatigue causing them to drag their feet as they glanced guiltily at Sayaka before they left. The last one to leave was Celeste, claiming that she wanted to take a shower before nighttime went into effect, leaving the rest of them to ponder over what to do next.

Makoto briefly left to check his room before returning. Just as Monokuma had told him as he reached the dorm, the room was completely returned to normal. Not a single scar remained to tell of what had occurred, not a single piece of evidence remained. Even the stains on the door were gone without a trace. Even now, after a full night of restless sleep, he could not find a thing that indicated that someone had been attacked in his dorm.

It should have reassured him, made him feel better. It didn't. All it did was rise more concerns.

Had Leon or Sayaka or even Hiro died last night, would they have been, "cleaned up" too? Would they have just been taken, thrown out once their corpses were no longer needed for a trial like a piece of garbage without being given a chance to be mourned? The thought made him stomach churn.

These were living people with lives and stories to be told. To disregard that was horrible, monstrous even.

And then, that retched bear had to show up on last time. On Leon's word, when he went to take Sayaka to her room he had accidentally failed to close the door, and when he went to pull in shut he overheard Monokuma show up again, taunting her over her failure to give up her bonds with her former band and stay here in this school. Had it not been for his desire to not be heard spying, Makoto was sure Leon would have rushed back in to yell at the mastermind. But, it might have been a good thing that he didn't, since Monokuma told Sayaka something that it might not have told them.

" _If they had chosen to execute you, your Lifeline would have been given to the first person you tried to murder._ "

That, that was terrible, horrifying. Not only did it mean that her sacrifice would have been pointless, it would have meant that her precious person, the one person she cared for the most would have been given up to someone who might risk that life for themselves. Worst still, if what Kyoko said was true, then the same likely extended to them as well.

If they ever committed a failed murder attempt, they would be risking their loved one's lives in every decision they made. They had no way to protect them unless they chose to avoid killing someone. While Makoto didn't believe that anyone would be so heartless as to make such an endeavor, he couldn't shake the unease he felt whenever he remembered that one of them had already attempted to kill someone. Had it not been for the mysterious person that showed up to save those two, they would have likely lost three people already. Four if Leon hadn't helped save Junko.

That reminder had him sit up in his bed. Junko. Whatever happened to her? When they had left the elevator, none of them could check up on her. When they had tried, they had received an alert on their E-handbooks that had them even more pensive then before. A new rule had been added, stating that, "Between the hours of nine PM and nine AM, only the one designated as the nurse will be allowed access to the infirmary. Injured and sick must check in through them and will be given a bed for treatment until they are capable of moving on their own power."

Since both Sayaka and Hiro could technically move their own wheelchairs if they wanted, they weren't allowed in. Moreover, because this rule had showed up so suddenly, none of them had been assigned the role of nurse yet. There hadn't even been a notice posted on the job board so they couldn't just have one of them volunteer for the role. In the end, they had to begrudgingly leave Junko alone in the infirmary and wait until morning came.

Standing up, despite how much his body told him it wanted to go back to sleep, Makoto rubbed the sleep from his eyes and ambled over to his dresser and grabbed his clothes for the day before wandering over to his bathroom, hoping to get a quick shower in before breakfast. In the end, there was only one thing that he could do right now.

Press on and move forward.

* * *

I sighed as I held a bowl and stirred the doughy contents for what felt like the hundredth time. If I was going to mope, it was going to be after I have some breakfast.

With me, I have a bit of a habit. When I'm upset, I either play games until I forget why I was upset, or I occupy myself by working on either writing a story, drawing a picture, or by cooking something. Sadly, this school didn't have a console of any kind in it, nor any games, and even if there were, I had extremely high doubts that I would even be able to play them since the only television in here was the really old box screen that was with the monitors. Well, there were a few in the school store, but I had a feeling that they were just props or rigged with despair propaganda.

Writing would have been a great time, but that had the downside that I preferred to type my stories over written word. I just felt more at home that way. Sadly, the only thing I'd found like a writing program in this school was far more limited then I preferred, and I wasn't comfortable using the main computer for this kind of thing. Drawing was a similar vein since I had a special sketchbook that I preferred to draw in. Without it, it just didn't feel right.

Not to mention that, with tensions so high from the trial, it would be nice to have something comforting to help me settle my nerves. So, cooking it was.

Fortunately for me, while the others couldn't enter the dining hall before seven, I had my pathways that gave me free access to all areas of the school. I had free rein of the place to do whatever I so pleased. So what if it was cheating it a way, I needed some levity after all of the depressing business from yesterday, and the nightmare that followed.

I did my best to suppress the shiver that rolled down my spine so that I didn't cause the batter to miss the frying pan before me. That dream. That horrible nightmare. Even now I could still remember the damn thing with far too much detail. The absolute terror the three of them had plastered on their faces, the sounds of their screams as they were tortured to death, and the blood.

Oh, dear sweet zombie Jesus, the blood. This world lived on a specific set of rules, always. Unessential characters were represented as colored out silhouettes, characters that earn the "Ultimate" title have some kind of baggage, and blood was hot pink. This dream, this dream broke the last rule. It was not pink, no it wasn't even close, it was a color it should not be it this world. It was a shade that never should be associated with those life-giving cells.

Red.

A deep, rich crimson that poured from their wounds and splattered all over the ground. The way the rosy liquid pooled in their mouths and drooled down their chins as they fought to keep it in through clenched teeth. It wasn't even something I could say was the result of a bad B-grade horror movie. This felt so real, like they were dying right in front of me and I was unable to turn away or close my eyes.

I think I would have thrown up had I had anything in my stomach at the time.

The more I thought about it though, the more I realized something about those torturous gore fests. As disturbing as they had been, and don't get me wrong they were ungodly disturbing, there was a feeling of…familiarity to them.

Sayaka…forced to dance on a stage under the pretense that, should she make the crowd cheer hard enough to meet some sort of rating, she would be let go. Something sabotages her efforts and a giant beartrap crushes her.

Leon…locked up to a post and bludgeoned to death by an onslaught of baseballs, the very thing that defines the very sport he has the most talent in and he is the most known for.

Yasuhiro…forced to use his talents to try and find out which door would lead him to safety, only for it to be revealed that all of them were a trap and that it was in fact the last door hidden out of sight that was the safe one.

Even if I was quite shaken up by the rather gruesome display, I couldn't help but realize the similarities they held with confirmed execution ideas that had been made by the creator. Hell, Leon's was almost the exact same as the one from the original game. The only difference had been the inclusions made by that literally shady figure.

A frown creased my face as I absentmindedly flipped the complete pastry in the pan and then moved it to join its brethren on the plate next to the stove. That person, if they could even be called that. There had never been anything like that in any of the games I'd played, nor do I recall it in any of the mini-novels that had been written in universe. I had never come across anything like it in any forum online, nor in any source that I could readily remember. It frustrated me to no end that I couldn't remember anything about it.

Searching on the internet now would be pointless since, not only was it something from this world that I knew nothing about, but with most of the internet destroyed baring a small few chat sights the whole plan would fall on its face from the word go. It _really_ bit at me that I might have to let it go, but with no leads and no way of finding them I was up a creak with a broken paddle.

Still, the executions bothered me. Not just the modifications that enhanced the disturb factor, but the people involved. All three of them had been involved in the last case in some way. Sayaka was the instigator, Leon the attempted victim, and Hiro the unintended victim. Any one of them could have died that night, two of them almost did. It was tragic what had nearly happened, and the feelings brought up because of it were some that I never wanted to go through again.

Still, why _them_ specifically, or rather, why _only_ them? Out of the four people that had nearly died within the past few days, Mukuro was the only one I had direct involvement in her near death. Hell, I _prevented_ the other three from almost croaking. Yet, in the dreams she hadn't appeared once.

Why though? If it was a dream fabricated by my guilty conscious, then by all rights she should have been in there. Yet, not a single sign of her had shown itself in the horrid affair. Mind you, it wasn't as if I wanted to watch her die in some kind of sadistic display of torment designed to kill her in the most ironic way possible for someone of her talents. But it didn't stop it from being strange that she didn't show up in there at all. It shouldn't be because her death only became relevant in the last couple of chapters, because her original death time had been before the first trial in the game too. Plus, Hiro never died in the cannon story.

Well, he did in the demo, but that didn't count.

Speaking of executions, as I poured another circle in the pan I let my mind wander back to last night, and the vote that could have resulted in Sayaka's execution.

Honestly, despite my fears, I knew it wouldn't be anywhere close. Though they had all interacted with her in some way, only Makoto had been close enough that her actions could have made him wish for her death, and he was far too nice of a person to want that done to her. That wasn't even me stereotyping him either.

At the end, even after hearing of everything that she had none, heard her admit to all the pain and suffering she'd caused, seen what her actions she'd produced, Makoto still tried to save Junko from her execution. If that didn't say anything, there was the speech he made at the end of the first chapter. The whole thing where he swore to carry the memories of the fallen forever instead of pushing them aside like most people would. It was one of his more endearing traits.

Though, I did have to wonder if he ended up suffering some sort of survivor's guilt over that. I wouldn't know, last I had heard of the franchise, they were still in development of the third game, so who knows what he would end up going through.

Flipping another flapjack onto the stack, I smiled a bit. Still, if there was one thing that was consistent in this gloomy place, it was the luckster's kind heart.

Because of that, I had faith that they would do the right thing and allow Sayaka a chance to redeem herself in their eyes. Turns out, I was right. While I was a bit disappointed that the others hadn't been all that inspired by Leon's words, I could tell that they had been affected in a small way. I had honestly thought that Celeste and Byakuya would have voted for her execution from the very start, and the same for Toko and maybe Hiro. While I was half right, I was pleasantly surprised by the former two deciding against my expectations.

I sighed though when I thought about the fate they decided on for her though. I wasn't against it, far from it. This was one of the better ways to deal with her actions. I just wished that it would have been Makoto to have volunteered to be Sayaka's escort.

It wasn't because of any shipping nonsense or anything like that, I swear. Even though I understood the logic behind their choice, it was because Makoto had the highest chance of helping her recover from this ordeal then any of the others. He was close to her and his optimistic kind heart would help her in the long run. He was the one that would have been completely earnest in his attempts to reignite the passion in her heart. Yet, before he could volunteer, Leon jumped to the frontlines and took the role as her escort.

I swear, for someone depicted as a lazy, womanizing coward who gave up his best talent for the chance to score with some chick he'd just met, that All-star had been rather brave since that night. It was strange to see how different he had started acting since then. It was quite refreshing to see him shift to a decent person, albeit one that forgets how subtlety works.

Either way, it would do her well to have to work with the others. Might even get her to stop being so stiff and manipulative.

' _Still_ ,' I thought to myself as I flipped over the pancake, ' _I can't help but worry about her, especially after what I'd told her last night._ '

It was most likely my tired mind preventing me from thinking straight, or quite possibly a bit of spite still hidden underneath my subconscious, but I ended up telling her something that was entirely untrue. I had no intention of giving her lifeline away to anyone, nor could I if I had wanted to. Yet, that was what I had told her.

I suppose it would be for the best if I don't try to take it back after all I had said. If she thinks that her friend would still be in danger should she die, there would be less chance of her acting up in the future. That thought didn't stop the ever-growing guilt welling in my gut, but the damage was already done and nothing I say would change that.

Tossing the next flapjack onto the stack and pouring four more into the pan, I wondered what I should do about the other party in this case. Mukuro.

I still felt quite miserable about what I'd done to her, and not even a pile of pancakes could repel the guilt. She was the ultimate solider, the only one to be able to go into any form of warzone and return unscathed. She was the best of the best despite what her age or gender would lead people to believe, able to pull off the impossible wherever she went.

And now she had a hole in her leg, robbing her of the mobility that she had been so acquainted with. I had put her on a permanent early retirement way before she needed it and forced her to the possible future of possibly being a cripple for the rest of her life. Her talent, her very livelihood, I had stolen them from her, and with the scars on her psyche from both her time as a mercenary and Junko's not so subtle manipulations, it was highly unlikely that she would be able to settle as a simple civilian again without intensive therapy.

There was no way I could make it up to her. All I could do was try and apologize and do my best to help her recover the use of that leg, maybe help her find her humanity again. That was all I could do now.

There was one other problem though. With her crippled and recovering as she was now, there was a possibility that something could happen to her that would get her killed here. I don't care how slim that chance was, the fact that it existed was more than enough to make me worry. I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her and the others at the same time, not without finding a way to keep her in the game without letting her actively participate…

…

"…Hold on. That gives me an idea. Could I…?" I muttered to myself as I flipped the flat cakes absentmindedly. "It wouldn't be that difficult to pull off. I mean, I would have to forgo somethings; make some changes to the system. I'd have to make some adjustments…but, that wouldn't be too hard. Plus, I could change things better that way…hmm."

As I pondered this new idea in my head, I was suddenly distracted when I heard a gurgling roar coming from my gullet. A deadpanned look work its way onto my face as I looked at the source of the sound, unamused by the interloper that dared to derail my thoughts.

"Fine." I grumbled at the blasted belly of mine as I flipped the four final pancakes off the pan and onto the stack. "I'll feed you first, then we'll make life changing de…cisions…"

I trailed off as I looked at the stack I had made, only now after tolling for roughly an hour on its creation giving it a proper look. In that moment, I realized something important.

"…I should have paid more attention to how many of you I was making…"

* * *

There were many things that Leon wasn't known for, and to say that he was would be an outright lie. For example, he was not an A plus student, in any stretch of the imagination. Despite his own claims to the contrary, he was not a lady's man. He didn't have any musical talent, to his dismay, and he wasn't interested in having a relationship within his family, to his cousin's continued disappointment. But among that long list of things he wasn't, the thing he most wasn't known for was being an early riser.

Something that would be coming to bite him this morning.

*Knock, Knock, Knock! *

A startled yelp broke free from the rooms sole occupant as his door was pounded on, forcibly ripping him from his sleep and nearly causing him to fall on his face from his sudden flailing. Panting heavily as he regained his balance, he glanced at the door to his room and sighed. He knew it was coming, he had asked for this after all, but it didn't make it feel any better to have to get out of his still warm bed for any reason.

With great reluctance, the baseball player forced himself to stand. Taking a brief moment to stretch his arms above his head with a loud yawn, he waited until he felt a small pop in his upper back, then made his way to his front door.

"Mister Kuwata! Wake up!" he could just about hear the voice of the rather irritating moral committee chair through the wooden door, so loud the white uniformed boy was shouting. It was admittedly impressive since the rooms were supposed to be sound proof, though if he had to guess, it was probably just the room itself that was sound proof, not the doors. Regardless, while rubbing the grime out his eyes, Leon opened the door and was immediately beset upon by Taka.

"There you are!" Kiyotaka loudly pointed out, literally as the case was with his index finger a mere fraction of an inch from Leon's nose. "Did you already forget!? You need to be ready to escort Miss Maizono starting today!"

"Don't worry about it man." was Leon's reply, suppressing another yawn as he did so. "I know, I know. I was the one to agree to this after all."

"True." Admitted Taka, "but that doesn't excuse laziness! As of today, I have decided to be our official roaster to wake us in the morning! Please, no need to thank me."

' _Well, if you want to be called a cock, I won't stop you._ ' Leon deadpanned in his head, acutely aware that the Moral didn't even realize the amount of teasing he would be getting in the near future should he ever figure out what he was saying about himself. If anything, Leon found it worth not mentioning in the hope of seeing how long it will take for Taka to catch on. So, he said nothing about it.

Instead, he told the white themed boy, "Yeah, I got it. Wasn't gonna anyway. Let me just get dressed and grab Sayaka and we'll see ya later." And with that, he closed the door, ignoring the praise from Ishimaru for him being a great example.

Sighing now that he was were Taka couldn't hear him, he walked over to the pile of clothes he'd left on the floor from the day before. Picking up his shirt, he gave it a sniff and decided that it would be fine for one more day before it got too ripe, he quickly put it on over the A shirt that he wore to bed and slipped his jacket on over it. Taking a moment to slip on his white pants, he headed into his private bathroom and began his morning ritual.

After a quick rinse of warm water to clean up his morning breath, he took his comb and got to work on getting the spikes of his hair to stand up in the way he preferred it. After being sure that it was just right, he vacated the room and made his way over to Sayaka's room. As per the agreement with the others, he was supposed to head in to escort her every morning to the dining hall for the morning meeting. Normally, he would have had a lot to complain about that, saying things like, "Why should I have to look after her?" but not this time.

He knew he should expect this to happen when he volunteered to be her chaperon, it went unsaid that he would have to be the one to wake her. It was practically an unwritten rule. It was even more so considering her weakened state.

To his somewhat misfortune though, Sayaka had opted out of him being the one to help dress her. It had admittedly been a concern that hadn't occurred to him until right when he was helping her get into her bed, fortunately without ripping open her wounds. When asked, she had stated that Monokuma, having been the one to dress her for the trial, would be keeping her clothed until she could use her wrist properly again. It was a bit disheartening to hear that she trusted their captor over him, but he was too tired to argue over the issue and let it slide.

Now though, he was fully prepared to tell her why that was a bad idea. Call him skeptical, but he didn't trust that bear to have her best interests at heart. Actually, call him completely rational, because there was no way anything good would come of that bear having full access to her at any point in time!

That was why he was glad to have caught the little conversation she had with Monokuma. He had planned to head back to the dining hall to grab a bite for himself and Sayaka, mostly because the trial and investigation had caused them to miss lunch and supper making everyone hungry and irritable, only to turn back to ask her what she would like. He knew that she couldn't have had anything all day since she had slept through most of it, and wanted to be sure she would be able to eat it all to help in her recovery.

However, that plan had changed when he creaked open the door and heard Monokuma talking.

In that moment, he felt his heart leap into his throat and he had to cover his mouth to prevent himself from calling out in shock. Why was Monokuma in there with her now, of all times? Was Sayaka trying to convince the bear that she should be executed regardless of the vote? Could…could she be planning to betray them all again?

Listening closer though revealed that it was much worst.

"… _I tell ya, you must have rubbed some of Makoto's luck off on ya to have avoided your execution like that. I mean really, who'd of ever imagined that Leon, fricking 'I nearly got stabbed to death' Leon would have given a speech about how death wasn't the right answer. Ha! Next someone'll say that bears don't eat fish, or that teenagers aren't basically walking piles of hormones. I mean, really."_

"…" _Sayaka was silent in the face of Monokuma's inane rantings, staring blankly at the ground for her spot at the edge of her bed, right where he had left her. As he gazed through the ajar door and listened, he could barely see the two-faced bear as it paced back and forth before her, rating as it went. It was frustrating to watch, to see her so unresponsive to what was going on in front of her when by all rights, she should be telling that beast to piss off! Hell, he was just about to do that himself, he was so upset with the mastermind for everything that had happened._

 _But, then it stopped and looked her dead in the eyes. "But, y'know. It's probably a good thing for you that they aren't as blood thirsty as I had thought. After all, if they were, Leon would have really benefited from all of this."_

 _That caused Leon to pause._ 'I would have benefited from this? What the hell is he talking about?' _he could only wonder what the hell the bear was going on about, because as far as he could see, there was no benefit to this whatsoever. To his amazement, Sayaka ended up echoing his thoughts._

"… _Benefit? What benefit…? How could anyone benefit from any of this?" the fires that had once been in her eyes were starting to rekindle, her good hand clenched into a fist as her once empty gaze slowly turned into a glare that could melt steel._

" _Well, how do I put this?_ _If they had chosen to execute you, your Lifeline would have been given to the first person you tried to murder."_

He hadn't stuck around to hear her reaction, on account that the bear had turned around and looked right at him through the small gap. The moment he saw that glowing red eye he had hightailed it.

Thinking back on it, it might have been a mistake to run like he did. There was no real indication that he had been seen after all, only that he had thought he had. If he had stayed, he might have been able to learn more about some things. There were still so many questions unanswered about the situation and all that was involved with it, and the only one with the answers wasn't exactly being forthcoming with the info they needed. Instead, they taunted them with it, purposefully only giving them a few titbits every once in a while, just to keep them begging for more.

In all honesty, it was downright infuriating at times.

Regardless though, he had someone relying on him now, so he couldn't afford to slack off. As he made his way down the halls he paused momentarily when he saw Taka hammering away at Hiro's doorbell, absolutely determined to get him to wake up for the morning meeting and breakfast. Shaking his head slightly in exasperation at the moral's actions, he started to make his way to pick up Sayaka. No doubt that Taka had woken her earlier then him since her room was closer to the red-eyed boy's, and since Monokuma was apparently going to help her with getting both getting dressed and out of bed, there wasn't any chance that he would be finding her still in bed.

As he walked though, he found himself pausing at the door of another girl, this one having still been missing since yesterday.

"Junko." He mumbled, worried about what had happened to her. Thanks to Monokuma's messing, no one knew how she was. Hell, none of them even knew if she was still alive at this point. And unless Monokuma says anything to them, it was unlikely that they would find out anything.

What had happened to her? Was she safe? Did the mastermind do away with her when they had the chance, or is she actually still just asleep in the nurse's office waiting for them? The questions gnawed at him and the others ever since they had found the door locked and quite frankly it was driving him up the wall with worry.

"I still need to thank her for reminding me of what was more important in life." He sighed heavily, as just thinking of that memory left him feeling melancholy. It had been at the tail end of their little clean up session when he had decided to confront her on why she had been so addiment on helping him, Hiro, and Sayaka. In his mind, she had nothing to gain from this endeavor, and everything to lose. As she said, if the mastermind did find out she was stopping murders, then there would be no doubt that she would be targeted. Even when she explained her reasoning for helping save Sayaka despite the fact that the idol had tried to murder him, it still hadn't felt like the whole story. So, before she had headed to the laundry room, he asked her about it.

And she replied, _"Have you ever had someone die that was close to you? Have you ever seen them take their own life because they felt they couldn't handle the pressure of living anymore? I have, and it's something I wouldn't wish on anyone. The feeling that causes, it cuts deep, really deep, and despite what others say, you never truly forget that feeling. If you let it, and even when you don't, it can haunt you, even scar you. Well, right now, that's what Sayaka's going through; what all of us are going through. When she saw her DVD, she panicked, she became despite to save whoever that was that she loved so much. And now that that's failed, I don't want to think of what she'll do._

 _She's lost so much already, and when the others find out what she did…I can't say they'll be all that forgiving. That distrust, that might be enough to push her over the edge…try to do something I would rather not witness again. Call me selfish, but I don't want to experience that ever again. And if that means I'm going to have to be the only one willing to give her a second chance, then I'll do it. We've all lost so much already. We shouldn't make ourselves lose anymore._

 _Life should never be taken for granted like that."_

That memory had been what had finally kicked his butt into gear, the very thing that allowed him to gather his courage and make his speech during the Final Debate and even now those feelings rang true. Forget what Monokuma said, life wasn't a bargaining chip to be given away at a moment's notice. They had no right to choose whether or not she died.

But still, that did raise the question of why Monokuma had sealed off the nurse's office again, and why he had put such a strange rule over it. It was kind of suspicious if he had to say anything about it.

Shaking his head, he decided that he wouldn't be able to figure this out on his own, so it would be for the best if he put it aside for the moment and focus on his new role in this school. Finishing making his way down the hall he stopped in front of the door of the one he was responsible for escorting. Fishing through his pockets, he quickly found and pulled out a key.

To be more specific, Sayaka's key.

It had been agreed that, as he was now responsible for her, he needed to have access to her room at all times. Now admittedly, Byakuya had been the one to propose the idea, stating that, "If she ends up getting murdered in her room, then they would have a much easier time finding her killer since we'll know who has her key in the first place." That had been rather irritating to hear, but even with that pessimistic view point, it made sense for him to carry it either way.

' _Still…_ ' he thought to himself as he stood in front of the door, key in hand as he blankly stared at the barrier between him and his charge. ' _Maybe I should have thought this through more._ '

The reason for this thought was actually quite simple. He, a boy, a very healthy athletic and very much straight male, now had to walk into and retrieve Sayaka, a girl, a very attractive popular girl that lived here…and was quite possibly still in bed or even quite possibly still…underdressed.

A healthy blush lit up his face at the thought and he shook his head to try and remove the hormonally charged image from his head. It was bad enough that he had to forget that she was a girl and might not appreciate a boy barging into her room on a regular basis, he didn't want to have to avoid showing off a boner as well. That would just make this more awkward then he wanted it to be.

' _You're just here to pick her up for breakfast_ ' he tried to reassure himself, wanting to prevent any incidences. ' _That's all we're here for. Nothing more. Remember, she already tried to kill you before. You should never try and get together with someone who tries that kind of thing. Remember, you already have one Yandere trying to jump your bones. We don't need another."_

Taking a deep breath, he breathed out a soft, "Okay, you got this." Now reassured that he could do this, he unlocked the door, and pushed it open with his eyes closed, just in case.

"Yo, Sayaka. You, uh…you ready to go?" Instantly, he cringed at his poor wording. There was no way she was ready with a broken wrist, not unless she just slept in her old clothes. "S-Sorry, I meant to ask if…you...Wha…?"

His embarrassment died a quick and fiery death when he saw the contents of the room.

Or rather, the lack of contents.

Sure, the furniture was still all there. The bed was still there, and fully made up with the covers perfectly pressed and pulled. The desk was fine, the drawers were fine, even the walls and floor were fine. But, Sayaka?

Sayaka was gone.

* * *

"Mornin' Makoto."

The luckster turned to look at the greeter with a strained smile as he walked into the food court, and was given an equally worried grin in return from Hina. The swimmer looked tense, like she was nervous about what his response would be, and was trying to hid it behind a smile. He didn't blame her though, after all that had happened yesterday, he felt she had the right to be anxious.

Shaking his head to dissuade his thoughts from drifting back to that depressing time, he turned back to her with a slightly sincerer smile and returned the greeting. "Good morning Hina. How are you?"

"I'm good." She replied, relaxing a bit more now that she was sure there wasn't going to be any animosity from him. "I'm just, ya' know."

"Yeah…" he replied to her vague response, but was unable to say anything more. He just couldn't think of anything more to say to the swimmer girl, and she didn't appear to have anything to add either, resulting in the conversation quickly falling into a state of awkward silence.

There wasn't much help coming from the other occupants in the room, that was for sure. Sakura was seated next to Hina as usual, but there was a tense aura around her that made approaching feel like a bad idea. Chihiro sat not too far away, but she clearly wasn't looking to well off. Though she had offered a timid, "Morning" her gaze had returned to her lap shortly afterwards, and if he looked closely, Makoto could see tears welling up at the edges of the little programmer's eyes. It didn't take a psychic to tell that they were still reeling from the trial yesterday.

Strangely enough though, Taka was missing, which considering how much of a stickler for punctuality he was, that was very concerning. "Hey, where's Taka?"

"Kiyotaka stated that it would be best if he gathers the others for our morning arrangement." Sakura provided, her calm and polite tone clashing drastically with her stiff and dangerous posture.

"Yeah," Roughly agreed Mondo from his spot across the table where he was eating a rather large stack of pancakes. Swallowing the piece currently in his mouth, Mondo continued, "Fuckin' idiot's been pounding on everyone's doorbell all goddamn morning. Wouldn't even leave my fuckin' room until I promised to show up."

' _Ah, so that's why they're here early._ ' Makoto thought to himself as he looked at all the others at the central table. Celeste had seemingly commandeered the end of the table for herself and was sitting poised and proper as she daintily sipped at her milk tea that Hifumi had prepared for her, said otaku standing nearby looking like he was wondering if it would be a better idea to say and receive her judgments, or flee back to the kitchen should she fling the cup at him for messing up the drink…again. Next to that hot mess sat Hiro, still confined to his wheelchair, though he seemed a lot worst for off then then last time he'd seen him.

He had big, saggy bags under his eyes and it seemed that he was sweating profusely. His eyes were also bloodshot, and in all honesty, he looked like he was about to collapse in his seat. There was also a distinct odor that the luckster couldn't quite place wafting off the seer's body. When Makoto asked, what was wrong with him, the fortune teller brushed it off, stating that, "It's all good man, I just had some trouble sleeping from the headaches and all. No biggy." It certainly seemed like it was big, but it was clear that Hiro wasn't going to elaborate further, so reluctantly, Makoto dropped the subject.

The biggest oddity though was Kyoko, who had been late every day consistently. This morning, she was leaning on the wall next to the kitchen door with an expression of being lost in thought. Briefly, she glanced his way when she noticed his gaze, but she was quick to return to her thoughts with only a single nod of acknowledgment to him that he returned.

Other than that, it seemed that the others that were missing were Toko, Byakuya, and Taka. Their silence only lasted for a few minutes before Makoto noticed something off.

"Where's Sayaka and Leon? And Toko and Byakuya?" he asked, glancing around and trying to see if he had simply missed them or not, but not even one of the other tables held the four missing students. Yet, there were no signs of either of them anywhere. For a moment, worry struck him as he couldn't help but remember the last time someone didn't show up, but it was abated when Kyoko spoke up.

"I walked past them earlier. Byakuya said that he wasn't going to come, not when someone could easily poison his food. Toko didn't say anything to me, but I saw her scamper off after Byakuya, so I assume she's fine." Then she turned away, her expression becoming unreadable. "Though, I haven't heard from either Leon or Sayaka."

That was still concerning though to Makoto, and he was about to offer to go check on them when there was a sound of the cafeteria doors being thrown wide open startled him and the rest of the students. Snapping back around to gaze at the entrance, there they witnessed Kiyotaka in all his glory with an authoritative scowl on his face before he dramatically pointed to them at the central table.

"Listen up!" he shouted with a startling amount of hostility. "I was just informed that Sayaka Maizono has disappeared!"

"What!?" was the justifiable response of the others, completely caught off guard by the news. She was gone. Sayaka was gone!?

Mondo was quick to continue the line of questioning, shouting, "What the hell do you mean by that!?"

"It's like he said." Interjected Leon as he stepped from behind Taka, panting like he'd run a marathon. "When I went to her room, there wasn't any sign of her anywhere!"

Taka interrupted, "Indeed! I went to check as well just to be certain, and there wasn't a single trace of her. I wish to call for an emergency search for her!"

There was unanimous agreement heard from the others, but before they could act on them…

*Ding dong, dong ding*

The sounds of the school bell chimed throughout the building and the monitor on the wall came to life, showing the face of their bear like captor that they despised oh so much.

"Ahem, this is a school announcement. At your earliest connivance, please head to the gymnasium post haste. I have something important that must be said. This is a mandatory meeting, so please don't be late." At first, that seemed to be the end of it, but then Monokuma seemed to jerk a bit. "Ah, also. To the ones who have received deep wounds recently, I have already prepared transport for you to be escorted by."

"Escorted?" parroted the resident Seer as he rubbed his head in confusion, unsure what the bear was implying. "I wonder what he means by…"

He was cut off when his wheelchair suddenly jerked back. Before he knew what was happening, his chair suddenly started moving to the door at top speed. Propelled by the Monokuma that had snuck up behind him while he was focused on the screen, all he could do was screech in terror as he found himself flying down the halls at a dangerous pace.

The others had been stricken silent at the bewildering sight. It had just happened so fast that none of them had any chance to react before he was herded out. It didn't take long, however, for the others to regain their senses.

"H-Hey! Wait!" Leon and Makoto shouted as they took chase, followed shortly after by the Hina and Sakura. Taka was quick to follow, shouting about their running in the halls as he hypocritically chased them at top speed. Chihiro and Hifumi briefly glanced at each other in bewilderment, but were quick to head out as well, though at a considerably slower and cautious pace than the others. Mondo grumbled as he stood up, glaring at the screen that had interrupted his meal, but stabbed his fork into his remaining flapjacks and begrudgingly stomped his way to the door.

The remaining two simply sighed in a rare moment of mutual exasperation, the antics of the others making them feel embarrassed for their sake. At that moment, either one would have preferred staying out of this whole debacle. Sadly, they both knew that they had no choice in the matter. So, with gracious steps befitting of their craft, they followed their louder classmates, hoping that nothing tragic would befall anyone on this day.

It didn't take long for them to reach the gym, the chase ending just before the doors heading in. Hiro was now by himself, a bit shaken up by the unexpected trip and panting like a dog in the summer heat, but overall was okay. Still, that didn't stop Hina from asking if he was alright anyway.

"Y-Yeah, I…I'm good…I'm cool. Ugh." He replied as he clutched his chest with one hand and rubbed his bandages on his side with the other. The whole trip had been far too wild for him, full of sharp turns and plenty of close calls with the walls. In all honesty, he felt that he was going to hurl had they not stopped when they did.

"Wonder what Monokuma wanted." Hina pondered as she walked over to the door to the gym. She hesitated for a second, clearly unsure if she should head in, but after a quick glance behind her to see the others were right behind her, she forced open the doors with a mighty heave.

And the sight that awaited them stopped them in their tracks.


	18. A new world of Despair

There were many things that the students expected to be greeted by when Monokuma called an early morning meeting.

All of which were horrible.

They expected to be traumatized by some horrible machination designed to torment them. They feared that they would be locked in a room with a murderous psychopath where they would have to fight to survive, gladiator style. They thought their souls would be sacrificed to some eldritch abomination of a demon.

Okay, only Hiro thought the last one.

But whatever they had expected when they stepped foot in the gymnasium…

"Now stretch those arms high into the air! Come on! Work it! One, two. One, two!"

…This certainly wasn't it.

"What am I even watching here?" asked Leon in disbelief, easily summarizing the thoughts of the others as they stared blankly at the Monokuma on stage as it performed an aerobic exercise routine. What made it even more uncomfortable though, was the bright blue leotard and sweatband combo set it was wearing. It was clear from the way it was talking that he expected them to join in, but no one with any sense of modesty was willing to follow along.

"ONE, TWO! ONE TWO!" well, except for Kiyotaka who was putting his all into following along and causing more than a few of them to stare in disbelief. The only thing that preserved what little dignity he had left in their eyes was that he was still in his normal uniform, having forgone the leotard entirely. However, they still didn't know if it was out of his own self-image, or if it was simply because he couldn't find one. It was hard to tell with him sometimes.

Regardless, it was ultimately unimportant compared to the other thing in the room. Not that far from the stage looking as stern as usual stood Byakuya with his arms crossed as he glared at the bear with unfiltered contempt. Not that far from him was Toko, looking far more agitated than normal. Though, it wasn't hard to see why, as you only had to follow her gaze to find that she was glaring at none other than their missing cohort.

"Sayaka!" Called out Makoto when he had caught sight of her, rushing past the others the second he had. If given a chance, he might have continued until he could just about wrap his arms around her. Unfortunately, that was not to be as he was stopped in his tracks when she turned her head to look at him and he caught a look at her eyes.

They were barely alive. The light that he had once seen so vividly was now a mere shadow of its former self. Her once heartwarming smile had been completely wiped from her face, leaving a blank, empty expression that chilled him to the bone even worst then any of her actions the night before. If she didn't occasionally blink, he would have thought she was dead where she sat.

"Sa-Sayaka…?" He asked as he hesitantly took a step closer, but he was practically pushed aside by Leon when the baseball star rushed over to her looking a mix between relieved and exasperated.

"There you are! Where were you? I was looking all over for you! When I didn't see you in your room this morning, I thought that…" he trailed off, his fists clenching at his sides. It was clear to anyone that cared to look at him that he was troubled by her sudden disappearance after being put in charge of her safety.

However, in his mind there was more to it than that. It wasn't just the fact that he was responsible for keeping her from trying to kill someone again, there was also the fact that he would never forgive himself if anything happened to her. Forget the fact that he would be a prime suspect as the one responsible for her, if she died now it would be his fault for not being with her when he was supposed to be there for her.

Makoto, though bit put off by the sudden interruption, was quick to recover. "Sayaka, can you tell us what happened?"

For a moment, she was silent, as if she hadn't even heard them speak. Then, her eyes slowly dragged over to them as she murmured, "…Sorry, but I didn't have any say in the matter. If you want to know, ask _him_."

The group followed her finger as it rose to point directly at the stage where their most hated headmaster was now doing a handstand. "Gyahahaha! Sorry for the little scare there, but I just couldn't wait to inform you all of the terrific news!"

"News…?" questioned Hina, a worried look full of suspicion decorating her face.

"Yeperoni!" Monokuma replied as it cartwheeled back upright. "Good news my friends! Your reward for surviving the trial has been unlocked. See, I know it's so hard for you kids these days to pay attention, what with your ADDs and ADFDs and all, and being stuck in the same ol' boring few rooms all the time can end up boring you all to tears; I know it does for me. So, in the interest of stimulating your brains, as of this moment, a whole new world has been opened up for you all to explore!"

While the barely vailed insult was far from unnoticed, it was ultimately ignored for the information given alongside it. "A whole new world?"

"That's right!" Monokuma answered Makoto's question with a twirl. "So be free my wondrous students! Explore, learn, and make a plan for the future. I know I will. Later!"

"Just a second." Interjected Kyoko, her expression firm as the bear stopped midleap to regard her with a questioning gaze. "I still have some questions before you go."

Monokuma stood stock still at that, still prepped and ready to leap off the stage to where ever it was it went when it wasn't bothering them. For a while, it looked like it would leave anyway. Eventually, it straightened up and looked right at the purple eyed girl. "Alright, I guess I have time for a couple of questions. But just a few. I have some…matters I must take care of. Fire away."

If she was as bothered by that cryptic statement as the others were, she didn't let it show on her face. "That's fine. I would just like to know what was going on with Junko and the new rule placed on the infirmary."

"Yeah, what gives!?" Mondo interjected instantly afterward. "Why the fuck has that been locked up now?"

"T-That's right…" Toko stutteringly followed up, pointing accusingly at the bear with a shaking finger. "U-Until the trial ended, y-you let us in and out all day. Y-Yet, when we were all g-going back to our dorms, y-you locked us out. W-Was it so that you c-could t-take her out without us interfering!?"

There was sudden panic amongst the group at the writer's remark. Was that his true plan? To get them away from the fashion model that had dared to stand against his rules so that he could take her out without their intervention? The thought was despicable, yet far from the worst thing they had seen the bear do thus far. But before they could do more than humor the idea, Byakuya's scoff cut them off.

"Don't be so dramatic." He said condescendingly, his glare running down his nose to look at Toko as if she were nothing more than a hindrance. "He clearly had no trouble with attempting to kill her in front of us to begin with, so why would he waste the effort to do it when we aren't around to witness it?"

To Toko's credit, she barely even acknowledged his tone or his words, though that was more because she was busy being lost in her own world at being noticed by the rich pretty-boy to care about anything else.

"He's got a point." Monokuma commented, smug as a cat in a tree as it glared at the dog below it. "If I _really_ wanted her dead now, I would make sure as many people as possible got to witness the moment that the life left her eyes. If I did it where no one could see it, well, then no one would be able to learn from her mistakes. I mean after all, the best lessons in life are the ones learned through others example."

"I don't think that's what it means."

"Regardless," Monokuma purposefully ignored Hifumi's remark as in turned back to Kyoko. "There is a reason for the new rule. Think of it like a 'tit for tat' situation. See, whenever you successfully find out who the blackened is during the class trial, you will be granted unlimited access to a few new areas. However, the supplementary trials have a much more…shall we say, _limited_ reward.

"In what way?" Questioned Celeste.

"Some of the previous areas access will be exchanged for new ones allowing you to continue on, but at the cost of some previous places being cut off. Furthermore, the infirmary wasn't supposed to be accessible till at least the second trial. The fact that it was is a grave oversight. You should be thankful I'm even allowing you to even continue accessing it at all."

"Speaking of which," Kyoko interjected, "I wanted to ask you about that. In your new rule, you stated that only the nurse has unlimited access to the infirmary. I'm assuming that it is a duty that will be posted on the job board, correct?"

"Just so." The twisted bear replied, "I've recently posted it on the board, so whomever among you wants to be waiting on the others, feel free to bring it up with me later and I'll give you the key. Just remember, just like the trash duty, nurse duty will be reset at the end of the week and I will be taking the key back then.

"And Junko?" Sakura added in, "What is her situation?"

"She's fine." Monokuma stated immediately, far too quickly for many of them. "She woke up shortly after the trial finished, so I relocated her back to her room for now. If she needs anything from you guys, I'm sure she'll holler."

Before anything else could be asked, Monokuma pulled a one-eighty spin and started waddling away. "Now then, if you don't mind, I'll be going now. If there are any concerns about the new locations, feel free to bring them up then, otherwise, I have an important matter to attend to. See you all later!" and with that, the bear disappeared behind the podium, leaving them more confused than before. For a brief moment, they were all silent as they gathered their thoughts and internalized the new rule. But more importantly, there was something that needed addressed.

"So…" Leon dragged out as he looked at the others with a look of confusion. "Anyone else notice something wrong with all of that?"

"He seemed to be acting quite peculiarly all of the sudden." Celeste commented with a deep-set look of curiosity in her features as she gazed at where Monokuma had disappeared. "If I had to say anything about it, I would say that he seemed rather flustered near the end there."

"He said something about an, "important matter", right? What do you think he meant by that?" Hiro asked as he scratched at his bandages, internally reminding himself that he needed to get them changed at some point. The other teens didn't have any ideas either, and merely glanced at each other in shared confusion and concern as if they were trying to read each other's minds through sight alone. The concern though wasn't for their tormentor's sake, not really. They could honestly care less for the fate of the mastermind by this point. But, if something has the person responsible for your continued living suddenly starts acting shifty, you know you should be at least a little concerned.

"Whatever it was, I doubt we'll be able to find out anything standing around here." Byakuya pointed out irritably, arms forever crossed as he internally groaned at having to figure out another quirk of their captor. It was bad enough that they were always going back and forth with their rules, making it feel like they wanted the teens and one adult dead while also wanting them to stay alive. Any other distraction to that mystery was just plain unwelcome at this point.

Still, if there was one thing that the rich teen could say, it was that the mastermind was at the very least, interesting. How long had it been since he had to work his mind so much to find out the innerworkings of someone of equal or at least somewhat similar standing? How long since he was forced to work around the plans and manipulations of others to come to the correct decisions? Not long enough in his own opinion, but at least this could be an interesting distraction from his mundane livelihood.

"He did mention something about more areas being unlocked, right?" question Hifumi as he nervously glanced from the stage to the doors leading back to the school. The gazes of the others followed, glimpsing back briefly to look at each other warily. So many questions now plagued their minds. What was with Monokuma all of a sudden? What areas were now open to them? Would those areas provide them the tools they needed to escape this school turned prison?

Well, whatever the case, they knew Byakuya was correct. They would never find their answers staying there. So, with eager steps they headed out the door, the two crippled members being escorted by Leon and Taka. Hopefully, there would be some good to be found.

* * *

"So, this is the second floor?"

The Ultimate luckster muttered to himself as he finished climbing the stairs, glancing around at the new environment with wondering eyes. Admittedly, there was not much to see at first glance. Straight ahead was a blue lit hallway with a pair of restrooms separated by gender, but immediately to the left was something of much more immediate interest. A set of purple colored doors with an anchor proudly displayed on the left one and bolted just overhead was a silver plate that claimed the location as simply, "POOL".

'A pool?' he wondered to himself, absolutely confused at the sign, even going so far as to rub his eyes to see if some dust hadn't gotten in them to disrupt his vision. Yet, no matter how much he rubbed, he couldn't get the sight to disappear or change in the slightest.

"Why is there a pool on the second floor?" He wondered idly, trying and failing to rationalize the existence of such a feature. Not the pool itself, with a school as prestigious as Hope's Peak Academy that boasted loving all talents, it was no challenge to imagine them accommodating for those that were more aquatic and sporty in their teachings.

Rather, it was the location of such a thing. It should go without saying, but there was a reason pools traditionally tend to be located on the _first_ floor of a building, if not outside completely. The amount of prep work that would need to be done to hold up the several hundred gallons of water and however more weight the several other people using said pool would add, it was astonishing. They would have needed so many kinds of extremely high tier support to accommodate for the sheer number of pounds, if not tons, that would be held up however many feet high it was. Plus, the risk of the entire thing just falling through to the floor below and crushing some poor unsuspecting victim was staggering.

And that was only if this was for that one floor, if what Monokuma was implying was correct, then there were even more floors beyond this. There needed to be some seriously crazy structural integrity in place to carry it all.

Granted, this is a government-funded school after all, so it wasn't too far from the realm of possibility. Even with Monokuma around, that wasn't the most unbelievable thing he'd seen. Still though…

"No, never mind." He muttered, shaking the thought from his head. As much as he would like to focus on the bewildering structure of the school, the more pressing concern was actually exploring those areas first.

He could question the logistics of those rooms later.

Deciding that he'd spent more than enough time on that subject, he pushed past that for the moment and headed into the room. Immediately, he caught sight of three other fellow classmates examining the room, and the smell of chlorine wafting in the air. Any further investigation however was cut off when he was practically assaulted by one overexcited swimming enthusiast.

"Makoto! Guess what!? Guess what I just found!? They have a pool here! A pool! Pool, pool, pool!" Hina was practically vibrating on the spot like a Chihuahua hyped on caffeine, her eyes lighting up and full of stars as she invaded Makoto's personal space. Her excitement was flowing so powerfully, it was like she had suddenly gained an aura that radiated out of her skin and caused her to glow.

In all honesty, he would have found it adorable if she wasn't invading his personal bubble so much.

"Y-You don't have to keep repeating it, I got it." He stuttered as she continued to hover, somewhat hoping that would be enough to placate her excitement or at least get her to move back a bit.

Sadly, she only got closer, practically pressing against him as she breathed out, "And! And there's a ton of exercise equipment in the locker rooms! Sakura's going to go nuts when she finds out!"

"Yeah, your right about that." Was all he could say before she finally pulled away as suddenly as she had invaded, looking like she was ready to bolt for the body of water and say screw the rest of the investigation. The only thing holding her back seemed to be one very glaring object hanging from the ceiling.

"I-Is that a…Gatling gun?" He nervously questioned as he stared at the massive weapon mounted on a swivel and aimed between the two changing rooms of blue and pink. Whatever the reason it was up there, it was clear that it was no decoration considering the belt of bullets locked and loaded in the chamber.

"It would seem that they take the sanctity of the school rather seriously." Celeste commented as she and the others gazed up at the thing as well, though she was noticeably calmer then the others. No, if anything she was intrigued by the weapon's presence. There was a strange glint in her eyes that honestly unnerved the luckster.

But, that thought was quickly tossed to the side by yet another interruption by a certain individual saying, "Oh, we do indeed!"

The four teens jumped at the sound, turning swiftly to see their loathsome headmaster standing amongst them. Without any hesitation, they took a step back from the bear while he continued unconcerned for their shock. "We here at this academy pride ourselves for maintaining a level of standards within these walls. Any and all illicit activity in these halls are a grave violation."

"Interesting." Stated Celeste, "And what pray tell do you qualify as "illicit activity"?"

The bear guffawed at her question, even going so far as to clutch his sides in merriment. "Oh, like you need to guess miss Lolita. The hanky panky, the horizontal mambo, the doughnut banana routine? Simply put, if you decide to "get down and dirty" with someone in the locker rooms, then you would be best be prepared to receive a few dozen pounds of lead in your guts."

"Like anyone would be doing… _that_ sort of thing in a changing room." Hina was quick to deny with a ruby blush coating her cheeks. A similar coloration burned over Makoto and Chihiro's face as well as their minds inevitably went south from the mental image. Even Celeste had a light dusting on her cheeks. For all of her ability to maintain a poker-face, she was still a healthy teenager.

"Oh?" He asked, before he bizarrely started to glow a red tint himself as thick beads of what appeared to be sweat started to pour down his head. "is our sweet little swimmer into that sort of thing? How _lewd._ Why, I can only imagine what the rest of your class would think if they heard that little bit of juicy info. Hughhuhuhuhu."

"Don't you dare!" she demanded in return, her once small blush now spreading like a wild fire to her neck and ears as she held up her fist in a threatening manner. "And besides that, how would you even know if someone tried?"

"Simple! Both of the locker rooms here are equipped with an electronic lock that can only be opened by your E-handbooks. It goes without saying, but only a guy's E-handbook will open the boy's lockers, and vise versa for the girl's." the bear placed his paws on his hips at that and raised his head in smug pride, "Quite the cutting edge, isn't it?"

Makoto had to admit, begrudging or otherwise, that it was rather incredible. The ability to simply tap an electronic book containing your gender profile to a pad did make the risk of any indecency much lower than the standard locks of any other locker rooms he had ever been in. Yet, it did raise one question that Hina would end up being the one to ask. "But, what if someone just holds the door open and someone else sneaks in?"

"Then I will personally confront the indecent scoundrel myself!" the bear declared menacingly, "That kind of sexual depravity is not welcome in these halls and will be punished without mercy!"

"But what happens if another student loans their handbook to someone else?" Celeste inquired. "A boy could borrow a girl's handbook, and that would get them into the girl's locker room, would it not?"

"…" Monokuma stood silent at that, his expression blank as he contemplated the gambler's question. Then, a rather disturbed laugh erupted from his mouth. "Heh, and here I thought Hina was the perverted one in this conversation, yet here you are coming up with something so low, so…devilish. It almost brings a tear to my eye."

To Celeste's credit, she barely flinched at the slight against her, choosing instead to glare at the bear for his remark. "It was merely an observation, there is no need to be so crass."

"Yeah, yeah. You say tomato, I say "Shut the fluff up"." With the gambler's glare deepening all the more, Monokuma continued. "Anyway, to be honest, if you're willing to risk losing your only key to most of the school, then that's entirely your decision. After all, if anything happens to someone, it would be _pretty_ incriminating if your handbook was found at the scene of the crime, now wouldn't it?"

"Yes, that would be quite the inconvenience." Celeste had to admit, and Makoto fully agreed. As much as he had faith in the others, even he couldn't deny that there was a huge risk that someone could be framed for murder should they loan their handbook out at the wrong time or to the wrong person.

"But ya' know, you seem to be awfully concerned with all of this 'locker security' stuff." Hina mentioned with a raised brow. Though, she had a good reason for wondering. It was rather strange that whoever was controlling Monokuma was so immoral that they would tell them all to kill each other, yet they were surprisingly uptight when it came to things like carnal actions in the school. There was a strange dissonance with that.

Could it be that the mastermind found the very idea uncomfortable and wanted to limit them to spare themselves, or was there a more significant reasoning for it? Whatever the case was, Monokuma did share one thing. "Hehehe. Not really. Personally, I could care less about what you get up too. Unfortunately, you teenagers are such sex-crazed maniacs by nature that you'd try humping a plastic bottle! So, to keep anything unseemly from happening, I have to maintain a constant watch."

That description certainly wasn't the most flattering image to imagine, lest of all considering that there possibly were such people out there.

"Then in that case, I would ask that you keep the same close eye on our dorms." Celeste requested, a hand absentmindedly rising up to fiddle with a lock of her hair. "If some man and women were to share a room, there would be nothing to stop them."

While she had made a good point, Makoto couldn't help but flinch at the remark. After all, the first time there had been an attack in the school was because he himself had let Sayaka into his room. In a way, if he hadn't agreed to the switching of their rooms for the night and instead stayed to help comfort her in her time of need, the whole night might have turned out quite differently. It didn't matter that the outcome had come from the pop-idol's belief in the mastermind's video and words, he still felt partially at fault for letting it happen, for not realizing her plan to frame him.

"I only care about protecting the holy image of the school itself!" Monokuma retorted, his paw waving in clear dismissal to her claim. "I couldn't care less about what you do in your private dorms. By force or by cunning, so whatever you want."

"I hate you so much." Was all Hina had to say on the matter.

"But, um…" Chihiro started to say, but cut herself off with, "N-No, never mind."

Unfortunately, for as quite as she was, Monokuma still heard her. "Hmm? What is it?"

"Um…well it's just…if you're so concerned with us loaning our handbooks out, why not just make a rule telling us not to?" the other three's eyes widened in realization at the programmer's line of reasoning. It did make no sense that he was so uptight about them possibly preforming acts of debauchery without making a rule against something he found depraved.

Sadly, he had an answer against that as well. "Well, I _was_ going to make it a rule that loaning your handbook was prohibited, _but_ I figure I've implemented enough rules against you guys so far that if I did add another rule I would have to make it more substantial. So, think of it more as a healthy _suggestion_ then a rule. There's also the fact that, we've already had one incident where someone forgot a rule and nearly got executed. Not really much reason to scare you with a new regulation when you already have a fear of the consequences of defying the others. Besides, if I keep pouring on more and more rules, then you'll never have an opportunity to become the blackened."

That one word at the end caused a collective shiver to run down their spines. Of course, he would care more about one of them murdering one another over common decency. After all they'd seen of him, the twisted bear still stood as a testament of everything wrong with the world. And as if he heard their thoughts, he decided to make himself even worst in their eyes.

"Although, if you _were_ dumb enough to go against my strongly worded suggestion, then I would have no choice but to show the _entire world_ your shame as your punishment. So, think about that before you go getting frisky in the lockers. See ya later!" and with that rather horrifying thought left in their minds, the bear was gone again.

After waiting for a moment to make sure he wasn't coming back to further torment them, Hina let loose a massive sigh as she slumped over. "Maaaan, that damn bear really killed my good mood. Maybe I'll go take a dip to cheer myself up. Hey Celeste, Chihiro, you wanna come with me?"

"There is nothing I hate more then to get water on my face." Celeste was quick to shoot down the invitation as she started to walk away. "In any case, I have seen all that I need to here. I will be taking my leave now. Good day."

"Sorry…I'll pass, thank you." Chihiro also denied, before flinching back when Hina suddenly got up in her face.

"Wha- oh come on! There's nothing like a good swim to get you out of a funk." The swimmer stated, firm belief backing her every word. There wasn't a single shred of doubt in her mind even once that swimming was the best way to calm the nerves.

Sadly, the meeker girl was not swayed by her conviction. "I-I'm sorry. I just don't like wearing swimsuits…I'm not even brave enough to go into the locker room."

That was something the other two didn't expect. "Huh? You don't even want to go in to the locker room?"

"No, it's not that," Chihiro quickly denied Makoto's misconception. "I mean, I'd like to try out some of the exercise equipment in there if I can find someone to help me but…"

It was suddenly clear to the luckster that he really didn't know that much about the young Fujisaki as he thought he did. It had never even occurred to him that the mousy programmer might not like her diminutive body size and have a desire to change it. And there was also that strange fear she seemed to have of the locker room. Was it because of some kind of past trauma in the past, or was it because of that Gatling gun hanging above their heads?

As he pondered, he couldn't stop his eyes from wandering up to the weapon in question. It wasn't that surprising if that was the case. Most people would be concerned about a ton in live ammunition being aimed in their general direction. But, then why didn't she just say the gun scared her too much instead of the locker room?

Whatever the case, she was cut off once more by the now cheerily smiling swimmer placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "D'aww, you can join me and Sakura when we go. We'd love to help you!"

For a brief moment, it seemed that Chihiro was about to accept the excitable girl's offer, but then a look that Makoto could only describe as absolute horror flashed across her face and she dashed off with a hurried apology tossed over her shoulder, leaving the stunned swimmer and confused luckster behind.

"She didn't have to run away." Was all Hina was able to say as the door shut behind the retreating programmer. All Makoto could say in response was a bemused, "Maybe she thought you both would crush her."

Whether she heard him or not, Hina didn't respond to the jib, choosing instead to adopt a thinking pose. "But y'know, it's strange. Have you noticed that she seems all standoffish with the girls, yet when she's with the guys she turns on the charm?"

At first, Mokoto didn't see what she meant, but when he thought about it, that did seem to be the case in some moments. Barring the times when Byakuya or Mondo were around, Chihiro did seem to be a lot more comfortable when she was talking to one of the guys. Hell, barring himself, she was the only one here that was not only able, but was willing to converse with Hifumi on the regular without being prompted beyond a glance. It was rather strange that the same couldn't be said for the rest of the girls as Chihiro would get rather flustered and quick to retreat whenever she was left with the girls for longer than a few minutes, less if they touched her like Hina had done.

Of course, there could be a good reason for that. Makoto wondered if maybe she just had confidence issues when talking with girls from some kind of event in her past. Maybe she was picked on by some girls in her old school and she grew more comfortable with guys instead as a result. Or maybe…

"Is it just that she likes it when men fawn over her!?" Hina interrupted his thoughts quite loudly. "I bet Chihiro's actually a seductress!"

For a moment, Makoto's mind pondered over that idea, the image of his classmate Fujisaki, seductively pulling on the edge of her collar with is soft little giggle. Her breath coming out in soft pants in anticipation for the things they would be doing together. Her eyes shimmering with mischief as she gazed into his eyes, lost in the attention he was pouring on her as she did everything in her power to keep his gaze on her visage. It was a look that truly…

"…Yeah, that doesn't match my image of her at all." Makoto said in a deadpan. Chihiro, shy little Chihiro, acting like that? Even in his own imagination that was far too out there for him. Honestly, he sooner saw antisocial Toko acting like that then the meek programmer.

With that thought now in his mind, he decided that in would be best to follow the others lead and continue to explore the new floor some more so that when they met up again for the meeting he could give a more detailed report for those that missed out. So, with a parting word to the pouting swimmer, Makoto wandered out of the pool room and headed for his next destination, determination in his heart that they would find something worthwhile in this new world that had been opened for them.

* * *

"So, you're one hundred percent sure on this?"

Normally, I don't like to question people on something they had assured me about. If I felt concerned about something, I ask about what that something was and trusted that they knew what they were talking about. Until now, I have never had reason to believe otherwise when I was told that everything would be fine when it came to medical professionals.

That is why I felt justified in my concern considering that the trained and licensed professional I was currently speaking to had hair cut choppily, _glowing red eyes,_ and was wearing a nurse outfit that was splattered with a disturbing amount of blood!

But that was only the tip of the iceberg. If it weren't for the fact that I needed her help, I wouldn't be currently talking to one of the biggest supporters in Junko's despair army. The second I had called her up, I knew that she would be difficult to handle. I knew that, and was prepared to listen to a rant of some sort about despair and how great I was and other such nonsense.

Sadly, Mikan took those expectations of mine and did to them what the Ultimate Musician tends to do to amps.

Cranked it up to _eleven_.

I'll spare you the gritty details of her practically worshiping me, but suffice to say, I was more than glad that her training surpassed her lust and that she was more then up to the task I needed of her.

"Y-Yes, without any doubt," she stated with a bit of a stutter, but the ruby red blush on her cheeks was more than a bit concerning. "A-After a preliminary diagnostic, I was able to identify his disease. I can say without any hesitation that it's treatable, t-though not without some major side effects or risks. I-It's possible that he'll be able to-to recover most of his muscles and dexterity in a few years."

I refused to let out a sigh of relief at the news. I absolutely refused to get my hopes up just yet. "And the risks and side effects are…?"

"W-Well, the risks of his body rejecting the medicine and possibly dying are quite high. With how much his immune system has strained itself to keep him alive thus far, he's already incredibly lucky to have managed to last this long. He's already surpassed his previous life expectancy by a full year. If we go through with the operation, w-we might overwhelm what's left."

I wanted to cry. If I wasn't sure that she would react very badly to it, I would probably do that very thing. Instead, I merely put my hand to my chin and closed my eyes while doing my best not to scream.

I had been hoping that she would be able to do more than this, that she would be able to whip up some kind of miracle cure for that terminal illness like they tend to do in all anime. Don't mock, for as little as I believe in miracles, Mikan is still the ultimate nurse. If anyone could figure out a way to save someone from an unspecified terminal illness, it would be either her or whoever got the title of "Ultimate Doctor"; and I never heard of them here so I'm just gonna stick to the crazy that I knew.

And to her credit, she was able to supposedly figure out what exact obscure virus had caused him to be bed ridden; even though she refused to tell me exactly what the name of it was. I don't know why, and while I was a bit concerned, I had more important things to deal with and little time to prep, so I regrettably had to leave it.

Just as I was about to speak, Mikan interrupted. "I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry! Pease don't hate me! I'll do anything, j-just please…"

I felt a bit sad for her as she panicked, apparently misinterpreting my thinking pose for some kind of disappointment in her. Sadly, even when drowning in despair, it seems that her immense fear of being hated stood strong.

Or maybe that's a good thing. That means there is something that can be saved.

"No, it's okay," I tried to reassure her, throwing a wide grin on my face to help sell it home. "If you say it can be done, then damn the risks. I trust you to get him up and going again."

"…" Okay, on the plus side, that got her to calm down. Problem, it was a little bit… _too_ calm, if you catch my drift. It was ringing all kinds of alarms in my head.

"…You trust me…?" She questioned, her voice far too calm for her. "…Yes, that's right. My beloved always forgives me…Always. How silly of me to forget that…"

I barely suppressed the violent shudder that rushed down my spine. It wasn't easy because it was like someone dumped a bucket of ice water on me. There was something inherently wrong with that look in her eyes, and her tone even more so. There was just this dark undertone of malicious intent to it, like a threat that if she doesn't hear what she wanted, there would be dire consequences. It was so unnerving because that wasn't the kind of person she was.

Mikan, while clumsy and extremely shy, was a kind soul who looked out for everyone with an open heart and unwavering care. While she did have self-confidence issues that were such in the highest extremes that I wondered how she managed to leave the house without having an existential breakdown, and was constantly worrying about bothering, boring, or offending others, to the point that she feels the need to ask if it was okay if she does something as simple as remembering a person's name, she would put that all aside to help people when there were down or hurt.

 _This_ Mikan though, was absolutely unstable. A member of Ultimate Despair who uses her medical knowledge to keep people alive while out right torturing them with various shots and abrasions. Where the normal one would contemplate the idea of making someone she loved an invalid so that they would stay with her forever, _this_ twisted nurse would act on it with a gusto, uncaring about who she hurts in the process.

Suddenly, I'm glad to be locked in this heavily fortified school.

Regardless, I decided that it would be in my best interest to get her calm. So, I repressed the desire to hurl and put on the most loving grin in my arsenal. "Of course I'll forgive you, sweetie. You haven't done anything wrong. You know that. Just do your best. I'm counting on you…Love you!"

I blatantly ignored the perverse giggling that she gave and the heavy shudder that racked her body and cut the connection. Once the screen returned to the standard control for the Monokuma bots, I stopped repressing my shivers.

Well, I say 'shivers' but what it might look like to an outside viewer would be more along the lines of, 'had an ant farm dumped on my back'. It was that violent. I never felt so much revulsion at once before in my life from just the look on someone's face before. It was like she had stripped me down with her eyes and laid all of the worst parts of my soul bare. Was this what Junko had to deal with on the regular? If so, then I might end up feeling glad for the worlds end, it was just that unpleasant.

"Ugh…" trying to get my mind away from the mental trauma, I got out of the chair to look at the camera's in the viewing center to see where the others were in their search. Most of them were where I expected them to be by now as they were in the library, having now found both the letter that would tell them about the schools closing from a year ago, the unresponsive laptop full of the answers they needed, and a small storage room filled with all kinds of confidential national secrets, copies of unreleased police reports, and other illuminati things that could get someone killed if they read them out loud.

Of course, the last one wasn't going to be a concern at the moment. A cheeky grin crossed my face as I watched Byakuya attempt to open the door and fail miserably, the lock still in place. Shows him right for not taking me seriously.

As I had told them, they don't get as much new things opened for the supplementary trial system, and I decided that this would be as good a time to follow through with that promise. I had considered leaving either the library as a whole, the baths section, or even the pool closed off, but I ended up deciding to lock away that door for now instead.

Best part? That would also help out my "friend" Genocide Jack keep herself hidden for just a bit longer.

Yes, I am well aware of how bad that sounds.

Sadly, as much as I am aware of how beneficial she is to me and the group as a whole, but the longer she went unknown, the higher the chances of keeping her from screwing herself over with her murderous tendencies. Plus, it would give the others more time to get accustomed to the normal Toko more before their minds get blown away by her other half's reveal.

Taking my mind back to focus on the cameras, I decided to tune in on what the only people I did not quite know what they were doing during this investigation.

Sayaka and Leon.

Since they had survived being killed and executed respectively, I now had the pleasure of being able to see how things were going to change with their inclusion. I expected there to be something significant at least.

Unfortunately, it seemed that with Sayaka being under the equivalent of house arrest, and Leon being her guide who could only bring her to the dining hall and her room, that seriously reduced the places they could help with. It didn't help that the pop idol seemed to be under a cloud of misery, and was barely responsive to the all-star's attempts to get her to eat some of the flapjacks that I'd left in the kitchen. Yeah, you would think they would have stopped to question the suspicious fact that there was a massive pile of the things when no one had been in the kitchen at the time. Yet nope, not a word about it.

Not even Mondo stopped to question it that morning, and he was one of the first people in there.

Fortunate shined in one other way though, and I'm certain that it caused my eyes to twinkle with intrigue.

Makoto had entered the scene.

* * *

"You sure you don't want anything else?"

Sayaka internally sighed at the question as she turned to give another polite smile to Leon who was holding a plate of reheated pancakes in one hand and a fork in the other as he looked at her with concern. It had been a question that he had been asking her several times thus far, and while it was a bit endearing, it was starting to really get on her nerves. Yet, despite this irritation she felt, she wasn't looking forward to risking her continued time under his watchful eye becoming anymore unpleasant then it already was, so she took a breath and gave him her calm reply.

"I'm fine, thank you." There was still a look of uncertainty in his eyes though, so she tacked on a bit of a rebuttal. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. If I need anything, I'll make sure to tell you. Alright?"

Leon was clearly not convinced, she could tell as much without even looking at him, yet he finally got the hint and moved the stack of cakes away from her. "Alright, if you say so. Just don't forget that I'm here if you need anything."

She smiled her practiced stage smile as he sat down at the table, not to far that he couldn't help her if she needed him, but enough so that she could have her space. She was thankful for that, it meant that she could think without any more interruptions.

A while after the students had listened to Monokuma's little announcement, everyone had gone their separate ways. Taka had gone back to the first floor to see what new areas had opened up while most of the others had gone to check out the second floor. Hiro and herself, seeing as they were still wheelchair bound, had stayed on the first floor as well, and the clairvoyant ended up being drafted by the moral compass into reluctantly helping in his search.

Unfortunately, she was still under punishment and neither she nor Leon had eaten that morning, so the all-star had decided to take her to the dining hall for a quick bite. Sadly, with the way her stomach had been turning over the past several hours, she wasn't able to handle more than a few bites of her breakfast before becoming queasy; though she was unsure if it was because she was still recovering or just because of the guilt. Which was a shame she had to admit as she looked at the mostly intact pancake sitting in front of her coated in a bit of butter and syrup, these had been some of the best tasting buttermilk pancakes she'd eaten in years.

Granted, with her career she wasn't able to partake in these kinds of luxuries often, far too many sugars and calories to be a consistent meal. But these were still some of best she'd had.

In some small part of her mind, she knew she shouldn't be focusing so much on her unfinished meal, but it kept her from focusing on her guilt and the situation for the moment. She had to focus on other matters, lest the guilt of her actions drag her down.

She gave a minute shake of her head to clear her head. No time to think on that, there were more important things to think about. For a moment, she thought back to something she had been wondering about, something that had been bothering her for a while.

"Um, Leon. I…" She started, but was cut off in the one way she didn't want. Leon looked to the entrance and said something that made what little she'd managed to eat feel like a rock in her gut.

"Yo Makoto, what's up?" Her eyes widened as the luckster in question walked in, his eyes wandering from Leon's to her own where they widened. He breathed her name, and she felt no small amount of trepidation when he started walking towards her.

Instantly, her mind went to dark places that she had been trying to avoid since the night before. She could see it now, the luckster yelling at her for betraying him. Accusing her of using him since the beginning, that their friendship had meant nothing to her. She could just here him accuse her of having been a lousy assistant, that she had just been leading him on the whole time, that she was nothing more than a two-timing backstabbing…

"Sayaka? Are you okay?"

Just like that, she was taken from her depressing thoughts to reality where she saw that Makoto had moved much, much closer to her. So much so that he had placed one of his hands on her shoulders without her knowledge, and was now reaching with her other hand towards her face. Was he going to slap her? Grab her head and shake it like a maraca to the beat of some song in his head? Was he going to claw at her skin, tearing the flesh and leaving a gruesome scar behind to serve as a reminder of her weakness? Was he…?

Her thoughts derailed when his thumb gently pressed just under her eye and lightly swiped to the side. Then, as if he were reading her mind, he answered her unspoken question. "You're crying."

Almost unconsciously, she reached up to confirm the luckster's claim, and when she pulled her hand back she was stunned to find that her cheeks were moist and that her eyes had started to sting slightly. She had just been so focused on her own depressing thoughts that it had gone unnoticed until now. Yet, now that she was aware of it, it seemed the floodgates had been knocked wide open as her vision started to blur as more liquid trickled down from her eyes.

"Makoto…I…I-I'm so sorry." She sobbed at last, her walls that she had spent all night building up and her numerous scenarios that she had been planning for came crumbling down with that small act of concern. She had spent so long just trying to build up the nerve to speak with him, to explain what had been going through her mind when she had betrayed his trust and why she had given in, and it had all come crumbling down the moment he had expressed even the slightest concern. She felt so pathetic, unworthy of his kindness.

"I…It's alright Sayaka." Makoto said as he pulled back slightly as she buried her face in her hands, his concern overwriting any feeling of mistrust or trepidation he might have felt. It was so hard for him to stay mad at her.

However, she was adamant shaking her head as she continued to cry. "N-No it's not. What I did was u-unforgiveable, inhumane. I should have never even thought of that stupid plan. I was just so lost in what I was about to lose that I didn't even stop to think about what I would give up to get it back. I tried to frame you, I t-tried to kill Leon and pin in on you. I treated your friendship like something that could be given away, instead of something that should be treasured. I'm s-sorry."

Her sins had been laid bare to him and she continued to cry. There was no chance that he would forgive her, she acknowledged that, she excepted that, but that didn't stop her from hoping that he would at the very least find it in his heart to talk to her again and possibly give her a chance to redeem herself if even a little bit.

Unbeknownst to her, her would-be victim hadn't quite left yet, so lost in her own world that she had completely forgotten about Leon still being in the room. The baseball player could only awkwardly rub at the back of his head in the background as she broke down. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about all of this.

On the one hand, a small part of him felt a bit of vindication at seeing her so remorseful. She had tried to kill him after all, it would have been bazar if he didn't feel that much, but right now it was lessened by the sight in front of him right now. It was clear that she was feeling as destroyed emotionally as she was the night she'd made her attempt on his life. On the other hand, did he want to forgive her just because she was feeling apologetic to Makoto?

While it did sound like she meant for both of the two boys she'd slighted in her attempts to leave this school, it could just as likely be that she was only talking to the luckster for getting him involved. It could very well be that she wasn't even sorry for trying to murder him in cold blood and just wanted some kind of validation for her action. That thought caused a scowl to form on his face. Well if that was what she was wanting, then he would stop her with a few choice words of his own.

But before he could say anything, Makoto finally gave her his two cents on the matter. "I…I've been thinking for a while now, since…you know, the trial. And, I was really upset be everything that happened. I still am kinda. I realized that there likely wasn't anything I could have said that would have stopped you, not without some other…worst situation happening. I can't say that I can ignore what happened and pretend everything is alright."

She pressed her head deeper into her hands, trying to suppress the sob that was welling in the back of her throat. This was it then. He didn't except her apology, and was going to sever all ties with her. He was going to break off and never look at her again. She didn't blame him though, she would have done the same if she was in his place. The only solace she felt was that he was going to tell her to her face instead of leading her on.

"But despite everything that has happened, I can't say that I condemn you for it." He continued softly. "This…This whole messed up situation only happened because of Monokuma and the Mastermind. They were the one who pushed you into a corner and made you so desperate to get out in the first place. I…I can't ignore what you did, but I also can't forget the fact that you didn't feel like you had a choice. And…beyond that, I can't forget that we are friends."

Her head slowly rose up from her hands to stare at the boy in front of her, caught off guard and full of disbelief. Was he actually saying…? "So, I'm going to continue believing in you, even after all of this. I'm going to continue to work hard so that we can _all_ get out of here. I'm not going to give up, not on you, or anyone else."

Sayaka stared at him in shock, completely thrown off by his admission. He still trusted her, after everything she'd done so far? He…forgave her for what she'd done? Slowly, tears began to build back up in her reddened eyes and began to spill over. With a mighty lunge, she pushed herself from her chair and latched onto the startled boy as he let out a yelp. She started to cry anew, her face buried in his shoulder as she let lose all of the pent-up sorrow, guilt and frustration along with as onslaught of stuttered "thank you"s.

Instantly, Makoto's kindly nature took hold and he embraced her in turn, his hand that wasn't supporting her going to her back and rubbing small circles in her back to calm her down. This was all he could do for her right now, but in the moment, it was all that she needed. Whatever hesitation he had remaining for accepting her apology was swept away and left him feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he had a feeling that she felt much the same way. If they were to get through this, then they needed to do it together, not against each other. Otherwise, it would be the same as giving in to the mastermind of this killing game.

In that moment, Sayaka learned a new lesson, one she had thought she'd known all this time, but instead had backwards from the beginning. Friendships, bonds, companionship. They were irreplaceable, and nothing should be above them. Not even her career. She had thought she had known this feeling with her band with their friendly rivalries and passive-aggressive jibs at each other and the like, but it was clear to her in this moment that it had been something else entirely, and even if she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly it was by name what she had shared with them, she knew it was nothing like the friendship she had with Makoto. In her mind, she swore that no matter what, she would never put her friends below anything again, and would do whatever she could to prove her loyalty.

But first, she had another friend to apologize to.

Pulling away from Makoto ever so slightly, she gestured with her head back to her chair. "Makoto, could you…?"

It took him a moment to realize what she needed from him, but after a second he moved to help her back into her chair. It took a bit of maneuvering to avoid agitating her side, but in practically no time she was back in her seat. Thanking Makoto, she turned to a stern-faced Leon. For a second, she hesitated. Then it all started to tumble.

"Leon…" She started to say, but was cut off when he raised his hand.

"Don't…Don't start. I know what you're gonna say, and I don't want to hear it." Leon's words were spoken calmly, there wasn't even a hint of anger in his voice, yet it still felt like a punch in the gut to Sayaka. "I've had even more time to think about all of this then Makoto, but I can't say that I can forgive you so easily. You tried to _kill_ me, girl. That's not something I can just sweep under the rug and pretend it didn't happen. I'm gonna need a lot of time to think about all of this."

She didn't feel surprised, it wasn't unexpected. She knew it would be quite a stretch to think that Leon would be as willing to forgive as Makoto had been. No, the fact that the luckster would forgive her had been a stretch, thinking Leon would do the same was like asking him to send a ball into orbit with just his bat. He could try all he wanted, but there was no chance he would succeed.

"But…" the all-star continued, "I'm still responsible for watching over you. That means I'm gonna have to spend a lot of time with you anyway. So, you'll have plenty of time to convince me to forgive you."

Huston, we have reached orbit.

Sayaka and Makoto stared at the all-star in shock, his sudden grin and turn around in opinion having caught them both off guard. Makoto was the one to fill the silence. "So, you'll give her a chance?"

"Hey now, don't look at this the wrong way." Leon interjected. "I'm still really pissed off by what she did. Hell, I'm probably gonna have nightmares of that night for a few years at least. But hey, I figure if I can handle risking my life to save hers, I can handle a few bad dreams. All I really want right now is a promise that, once we get out of here Sayaka, you're paying my psychiatry bill."

For a brief instant, the other two were silent as the heard Leon's demands. Then, as if the dam had burst, the two teens found themselves chuckling. Then it devolved into outright laughing when he joined in. They had been so worried there for a moment that he wouldn't even try to see her side in this and cling to his hatred, that he had only taken responsibility for her just to torment her. Makoto felt especially foolish since he had been there and had seen Leon's expression and heard his speech. He knew the baseball pro had helped insure Sayaka's survival in the final trial and saved her life the night before even after she tried to stab him, so it wouldn't make sense that he would suddenly have a change of heart now after all of that.

For Sayaka, it was even more of a relief. Like the guilt that had been plaguing her had lessened from an all-consuming force to a more manageable beast. It hadn't faded completely, she doubted it ever would, but for now she could be content with what she could. A small smile stayed on her face as their laughter faded, and she realized that she hadn't given him an answer.

"It's psychotherapy, but sure Leon, I don't think that'll be a problem." He sighed in response, and if it wasn't for the massive grin on his face, she might have taken him seriously.

"Great, because I can't get any attention from the ladies if they heard I had some kind of stupid phobia of pretty ladies, now could I?" as if to emphasize this, he gave the Sayaka an overexaggerated wink that caused her to roll her eyes in amusement. That only seemed to make Makoto chuckle again and smile.

It was strange, after all that had happened, he had been worried that they would never recover from the horrible encounter. Yet, here they were laughing and carrying on like it had never happened. Maybe it was the environment, but in that moment, it felt like they were old friends getting back together after a rough patch, their bonds tested and strained, but becoming even stronger than ever from overcoming their hardships. It didn't even matter that they were still in this school, held hostage by a deranged maniac, in this moment they were content in each other's presence.

So, naturally it didn't take long before someone interrupted their moment with a loud bang of the doors being thrown open.

"Greetings classmates!" came the loud cry of Taka as he pushed a very disgruntled Yasuhiro through the door, but the pitiable look on the seer's face made their team up seem more hilarious then anything. "It's good to see such happy faces! Tell me, what were you talking about?"

The three exchanged a brief look, but after a small smile worked its way onto their faces, Makoto replied, "Nothing much. Just clearing the air between us."

The Moral said something in response, something about teamwork and what good this will be for them in the future, but it was mostly ignored by the others as the three teens of luck, baseball, and idol fame mentally pondered over what will happen next while the clairvoyant looked at them with confusion.

Yes, their trust in each other had taken a big hit, and they all knew that the scars of their actions could cause moments of hesitation to help each other in the future and they might backpedal into distrusting each other from time to time, but they had made a solid step into the right direction and with any luck, they would be able overcome anything that would come their way in the future.

It was only a matter of time.

* * *

"I would like to call this meeting to a start!"

The fourteen students barely even flinched at the loud voice of Kiyotaka as he stood up from his chair, though they did give him their undivided attention as they turned away from their thoughts to regard him. It had been only a few minutes since all of the others had finished their investigations, and as they had all agreed, they had all returned to give their own reports as to what they had all found. Though there had been a few stragglers, it hadn't taken them too long to catch up.

"Okay ladies and gentlemen! How did it go? Did anyone discover anything interesting new anything?" Taka continued when he wasn't given a response, though he was unlikely to have refused to carry on if anyone had given him one. Though a few of the students did raise an eyebrow at his choice of wording at the end, that didn't stop them from reporting their findings.

"Well, there's a library." Hifumi reported excitedly, purposefully ignoring the silently fuming Toko glaring at his back. The two of them had gotten into a heated debate over the validation of their craft shortly after the otaku had learn that there wasn't any form of the works he liked among the shelves, with her outright insulting the culture and artistry of Manga and fanfiction while he didn't believe her own works as anything much worthwhile either. That debate had held them up for quite a while, to the point that they actually had to be separated by Sakura and escorted downstairs to keep them from falling back into it. In the end, the only bit of satisfaction Hifumi got out of the whole thing was that he at the very least got the last word in before they were dragged away; something Toko was quite steamed about.

Of course, that hadn't been the only thing found there. Along with a rather old yet obviously powerful laptop that wouldn't turn on, likely from a lack of power from sitting there too long judging from the amount of dust everywhere, there had been a very interesting letter that had held a very important piece of information. According to the letter that was addressed from the school's Executive Office, Hope's Peak had been shut down, and though they didn't know for how long, it clearly had to have been far longer than they knew of since Kyoko guessed the dust on the envelope to have been at least a year's worth.

Even now, the idea made no sense to them, as they all remembered quite well that the school they had walked up on sure as hell didn't look shut down when they first arrived. There had also been mentions of some kind of serious issue that had forced the school to make this decision, but no one had any memory of anything that it could have been. While this did answer some questions, like why they had been the only ones here, it did nothing to tell them of the mastermind's identity or goal in this, nor how they were even able to go about organizing this whole afair.

"There's also a pool. A freaking pool!" Hina excitedly stated, practically vibrating in her seat as she fought the desire to rush back up the stairs to continue her swim that she'd cut short for the meeting. "And! And there's a whole bunch of exercise equipment in the locker rooms. There was even this big truck tire in the girl's side with a sledgehammer and rope next to it for some reason."

No one noticed the slight blush that rose on Sakura's face at that, as she was the reason for those items existence. Her exercise regimen required rather unorthodox tools to keep every asset of her body as strong as possible, but it was the necessity of something as mundane as a tire and a hammer that she needed more for exercising her core muscles. At first, she hadn't felt the need that much, she knew plenty of core exercises that would help her maintain her fitness level, but it was not quite the same. When Makoto had reported the school store and the rules regarding it, she had been skeptical that the bear would even offer the tools she needed. But as time passed she found herself asking the bear anyway.

It cost her several hundred coins and at least a dozen or so hours of feelings of shame, but she had been able to earn her equipment the day before the first motive. She had been told it would be delivered after a few days, but the events of the past two had caused her to forget all about the whole thing, and it was only her feelings of shame that prevented her from reporting it for what it was. Instead, she merely stated, "But there was not, however, anything resembling way out."

"Yeah…She's right" Makoto confirmed with slightly slumped shoulders, a move mirrored by several others.

"Well hey, there's no reason to get all sulky!" Taka interjected, no longer willing to wait to report what he had found. "Hiro and I have made a remarkable discovery! The warehouse and the bathhouse on the first floor have been opened! And the warehouse is chock full of all kinds of food, clothes, whatever you want. There's so much that it's insane. So, feel free to stuff yourself to the gills!"

"Yeah, only problem with it is that it's only open during daytime." Hiro complained as he clutched at his head, having to deal with Taka's boisterous voice all day had not been good for his headache. "There's a sign on the warehouse door that says that. Least the baths are open twenty-two hours a day."

"Twenty-two?" questioned Celeste, to which Taka interjected. "I'm afraid so. Apparently, from four a.m. to six a.m. our captor has it reserved for cleaning should no one volunteer to clean it that day. A minor price to pay in the grand scheme of things."

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem anyway as long as we all keep in mind that going out at night is prohibited." Celeste pointed out sternly, "Please do not forget."

"Yeah, that's great and all, but what about a fuckin' way out of here? Find anything like that?" Mondo questioned Taka, though it was clearly also meant for anyone to answer.

Regardless, it still took the wind out of the hall monitor's sails. "U-Umm…Unfortunately no, not that I saw."

That caused the Biker to growl in frustration as he briefly palmed his face, "You fuckin' people. Who gives a shit if we've got a goddamn pool now? Or a warehouse or whatever! We're still trapped in this damn school! We need to find a way OUT!"

He emphasized this by slamming his fist on the table, the loud noise startling many of the others into scooching away. Celeste, one of the few not noticeably bothered by the sudden act of violence committed against the poor table, spoke up in a chiding voice. "Now, now. There is no point in taking your anger out on us or that poor piece of furniture. Adaptation is the key here, yes? For now, we must find a way to enjoy our current situation."

Mondo scoffed off to the side, but didn't raise any objections, merely muttering, "Whatever you say, you fuckin' loon."

There was a slight twitch in her left eye and her smile became just a little more forced, but the gambler said nothing else. With that matter settled, Taka took back control over the conversation though he still looked a bit down. "W-Well, for now, let's continue our investigations."

"So, are we done for today?" Kyoko asked. For a moment, it looked like he would agree and let them all go to do their own thing, but he was cut off when Leon cut in with something.

"Wait a minute, guys. We're all forgetting something. Something we never checked up on." He said, but it didn't look like anyone was picking up on what he meant, or if they were they weren't saying anything, so he explained. "What about Junko?"

The sudden realization that came to their eyes made those of them that figured out what he had been talking about want to deadpan at the others for being so forgetful. Really, she had been out of commission all day and they had already forgotten about her? Even with the new realizations, it should not be that easy to forget about someone. But before they could comment or someone could say anything in edgewise, a voice they did not expect could be heard from the open doors of the dining hall.

"What _about_ Junko?" instantly, all eyes snapped over to the door where they then widened at the sight of the person standing there. Well, standing was a lose term as they were leaning heavily on an aluminum crutch while their right leg was, for all intent and purpose, dragged behind them. Their face was completely red, and had a thin gloss of sweat coating it and matting down their bangs and one of their eyes was closed tightly, both to prevent the salty liquid from getting in and from the clear strain of keeping upright. There was a slight bit of steam coming out of their mouth as she huffed and puffed like she had been running a marathon and even that felt like an understatement. There was also a concerning amount of blood on the thick wrappings on her right leg, but there were not any trails dripping to the floor thankfully. But even with all of this, there was no mistaking just who this was.

Junko Enoshima.

* * *

 **Hello, everyone. It's been a while, hasn't it?**

 **Sorry about the long wait for this one, I was stuck in a bit of a funk, trying to decide how I wanted to go through with the next section of this story, and then work became a problem. When school started back up, that means that sales skyrocket and all-hands must be on deck. To add to the problem, we had a new associate who needed training and as her senior, I got lumped with the task. This meant I had to take on more collective hours to help out which burned me out drastically during the first month, and I barely wanted to leave my bed, much less work on my writing. However, that never stopped me from thinking about it, so whenever I could manage it, I continued to plan this all out.**

 **Things have finally settled down again, so I'll be getting back in the groove soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next one out within a few weeks.**

 **Also, to the person who keeps trying to post V3 spoilers in my comments section. Please stop. I want to play it myself and learn about it's contents on my own. Thank you.**


	19. Blood ties Despair

"Well? What about me?"

The voice of their once out of commission classmate demanded as she looked at each of them with a steely glare, ordering someone to speak up to her question. Despite the fact that she could barely stand and had all of her weight pressing onto the crutch that she clung to with both quivering hands, her glare was still strong, freezing them in place whenever they tried to say their piece. They had no idea what to say, the words lost as the bloody fashion deva glowered at them. Just seeing her there was enough to stun them into silence.

"…Fine, whatever." She said frustrated after a while of getting nothing, with a heavy grunt of effort lifted the crutch a few inches in front of her and started limping to the table. With her glare no longer aimed their way, the able-bodied and morally sound students quickly rose from their seats and rushed to her side.

"Junko, you're okay!" Hina cried with a mixture of shock and relief, stunned by the injured girl's presence but relieved to see her okay…relatively speaking. Junko obviously still had a stitched-up hole in her leg, but she was still able to get up and hobbled around so she had clearly recovered a bit. Yet, it was clear that little improvement didn't mean much when she was panting like a dog after a run in the summer heat.

"Define 'okay'." Junko replied bluntly, her eyes squinting in pain as she continued to limp forward with a grimace and winded breath. Hina and Sakura moved to her side to try and offer a shoulder for her to lean on, but she waved them off with a grunt. "I'll be better when… _god_ …that two-face knock-off gets his block knocked off… _Frick_ …"

There were looks exchanged as she continued to limp, her movements shaky and looking like she would tumble down at any second, yet she stubbornly continued to move slowly towards the central table with a noise of either rage, excursion, or both with each heavy step. Even as she went though, she continued to rant. "Freaking bear…*pant*…Bastard only gave me a crutch…*grunt*…and then has the gall to make an excuse that all of the…*growl*…other wheelchairs are in use, and… _Damnit_ …the budget didn't cover a full _pair_ of crutches…Said this would build _character_!"

The others expressions soured at that bit of information, their minds instantly filling in the blanks. With all of the mentions of Monokuma having covered all of their needs, it was unlikely that what he'd told the fashionista was true. Most likely, this was some kind of petty move on the two-tone plushy to spite her for her attempt to defy him and surviving the fallout. There was no other reason they would believe based on what they had seen thus far.

There was also a small feeling of guilt from Sayaka and Hiro, the only people who actually had a wheelchair, the former more so then the latter since she was the reason the mobile chairs were in use. Plus, with both her and the clairvoyant still recovering, it was unlikely that they could give their fellow classmate their own chairs till they managed to recover a bit more.

"Here Junko, let us help." Hina softy offered moving towards the crippled girl with Sakura at her side. Yet, just as they were about to touch her, Junko swung her left arm out and lightly pushed the swimmer's arm away. Hina flinched back, but it didn't stop her from trying again. This time she was able to get her hand onto the fashion model's shoulder when the model shuddered.

"Don't…" Junko muttered, her voice weak but full of pride as she begged between her pants of exhaustion. "I…I got to do it on my own…I need to…Need to get there myself. I…I refuse to be invalidated, I don't…Please, just let me try…Please."

The swimmer girl's heart ached as her fellow girl practically begged her to let go, Junko's damaged pride on full display as she struggled to just remain standing, let alone reach the table. She really wanted to ignore the fashionista's words and lend her shoulder, but the look on her face made Hina hesitate. She glanced at her friends, desperate for a second opinion on the matter. Sakura had withdrawn at Junko's words out of respect of the fashionista's choice, but Hina could see she wasn't completely backing down on the off chance that something went wrong. Makoto, Leon, and Chihiro looked extremely worried as she was, but they clearly weren't sure what to do either. The others seemed to be intentionally avoiding her gaze, either uncaring about the situation, or just as conflicted as she was and were just so doubtful in how to act that they weren't able to decide. It was only Kyoko who didn't turn away, staring with an unreadable expression on her face.

The mysterious person that has been with them thus far had been watching Junko since the moment she first appeared in the door, her eyes not betraying a single thought as she studied the injured girl. There was something different about Kyoko that Hina couldn't quite put her finger on, something about how calm she always was that somewhat unnerved the swimmer girl. It was similar to how she felt when Celeste stared occasionally with that calculating look in her eye. Yet at the same time, Kyoko's was different. Kinda in a more matter of facts way then the gambler's more opportunistic approach. Yet, it was clear from the trial that she was incredibly smart and capable and was the best person to make this decision in this delicate manner.

Junko clearly wanted to do this on her own, but poor conflicted Hina didn't want her to push herself too far with her injury. If she did, there could be lasting damage that could scar her for life. Yet, if Hina intervened anyway, she wasn't sure if the model would ever forgive her. She didn't want to upset Junko, but she also didn't want to see her hurt anymore.

That's why she felt conflicted when Kyoko answered for her. "Very well, but if you fall, we'll help you from there. Understood?"

Junko nodded, thankful for the purple themed girl's approval, but Taka wasn't so thrilled. "Just a second! Junko, you're far to injured to be moving alone in your state! Let one of us help-"

"Would you knock it off for a minute!" Junko heatedly interrupted, her face still inflamed. "I appreciate the concern, I do, but I didn't get this far in my life by letting others go out of their way for me, and I'm not going to stop now. If you really want to 'help' me then just be ready to catch me if I flub this, but don't you dare jump in before or I will never forgive you. Do you understand me?"

She had spoken calmly near the end, no hesitance in her words of weakness in her words. It was like she slowly shifted from mad to deathly serious in a matter of seconds. It was so jarring that the moral compass was caught completely off guard. It the end, all he could do was back down, albeit reluctantly. "U-Understood."

She smiled at him, thanking him for being so understanding, then grit her teeth as she stared her arduous journey to the chair. Each step was emphasized by a grunt of anger, frustration, and pain. Sakura and Hina stood by, ready to catch her if she fell with Taka and Leon on the backline just in case. Eventually, she managed to make it to the chair she usually chose to use during the morning and while using Mondo's shoulder as a brace, she used her crutch to pull out the chair and maneuvered around to sit down. She let out a huff of exhaustion as she sat, balancing the crutch on the table with a grunt, and then *thunk* her head hit the table as she groaned out a word of thanks.

The others gazed at each other, concerned for their classmate yet unsure of how to react to her. She was practically dead on her feet, and that moment where she smacked her head on the table certainly didn't help. They were worried that she was too unstable, to traumatized by her encounter that she would be unable to continue any further.

In a moment of brazen bravery, Chihiro moved closer to their injured and miserable friend. "Are…Are you okay Junko?"

There was a moment where the girl did nothing but groan, but then she slowly raised her head a gave the programmer a small, tired smile. "I've been better…I've been worst…but, as far as I can tell, at least it's not a Monday."

The others were caught off guard by the remark, and the programmer turned to the others completely unsure how to respond to that. Mondo ended up being the one to take over. "The fuck? What could have possibly been worst then this?"

"You ever have your head cut open?" the blunt way that she said that made it difficult to tell if she was being serious or not, and there wasn't a single person among them that wished to ask.

"In any case, it's good to see you're alive. We were getting worried." Junko smiled tiredly back at Hina's admission, and sighed.

"No need to worry. It'll take more than a homicidal _bear_ take me down." A brief thought ran though some minds about how she had already almost been taken down by said bear, but they respectfully held their tongues. "Anyway, it looks like I've missed out on a lot of things. Anyone care to enlighten me?"

Realization came to their eyes at that as several of them suddenly remembered that little detail. "Ah, right! I forgot that she wasn't awake for the trial."

"No duh she wasn't there, idiot!" Leon rebutted Hiro, completely dumbfounded and a bit irritated at the seer for not remembering. "You were there when she was brought in! How do you _not_ remember that?"

"Hey, lay off!" Hiro replied angrily, "It's been a while since then and a lot of stuff has happened, alright?"

"In any case," Kyoko interrupted, not willing to listen to another argument. "What do you remember?"

"Not much." Junko admitted, pinching the bridge of her nose for some reason, possibly to fight the growing headache those two likely caused with their bickering. "When I woke up, I was in a daze, so my memories might be a bit off. I think I was in the infirmary and I had something…something pinching my arm? I think…I think I saw someone leaving the place at some point, but I can't recall who, and I was alone for a while…um, let's see, after that, I remember that damn creeper bear showing up, saying something about having, "missed out on the festivities", then he pulled the…Bed? Cot? Whatever it's called, that I was sleeping on to my room and dumped me on my bed. I must have passed out after that, because the next time I woke up, Mono-prick was fixing my leg bandages a little while ago. Then, he just hands me that crutch, and tells me that you guys were having a meeting that I should get to, and ran off."

"Hmm…" Kyoko closed her eyes in thought, "Yes, that does match up. Could that "important business" Monokuma mentioned be that?"

Junko raised a brow at the cryptic phrase, staring at the girl with a deadpanned glare. "Okay, again, was not here for a lot of the discussion, someone elaborate please?"

"During the morning meeting, Monokuma had us all gather in the gymnasium to inform us about the new areas that had been unlocked." Celeste explained for the sake of the fashion model. "However, toward the end of the meeting he let slip that he had some business to take care of. It would seem that your care was quite possibly what they were referring to."

"Yes, that would appear to be the case." Byakuya confirmed while adjusting his glasses. "But, it's strange. Why would they go out of their way to move you to your room?"

"Huh?" Hina asked in Junko's place, though not without unintentionally cutting the strawberry blond off in the process. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't make me repeat myself." The scion patronizingly scoffed. "Our mutual captor has stated that we are not to sleep in any area of the school, other than the dorms. We've already confirmed that there are loopholes to that with being driven unconscious by outside means from Makoto, Sayaka, Junko and Hiro. However, of those three, Makoto, Sayaka, and Hiro had to be moved by one of us. So, why then was Junko the only exception to that?"

The rich boy certainly did bring up a good point, but there had been one thing that Hifumi noticed. "But, weren't we were the ones to relocated Miss Enoshima to the infirmary?"

"Naturally, but once she was alone, Monokuma took the liberty of moving her himself. Now ask yourself, what was so different between these instances."

The question caught the others off guard, none having considered the idea themselves. While the others were busy trying to puzzle out the answer, Makoto tossed out a theory. "It's because she was alone."

"Well, at least one of you is capable of basic problem solving." Byakuya commented condescendingly. "But yes, that's exactly what I mean. Similar to when Sayaka was escorted to the courtroom, Junko was incapacitated and was practically alone. In that time, Monokuma moved her to another location while we were unable to intervene. So, for what purpose does that serve?"

A dark look appeared on Junko's face as she answered with a grim tone. "It's to show us exactly _why_ we aren't allowed to sleep outside of the dorms. The creep can have us moved at anytime, anywhere he wants. He just _chooses_ not to move us from our rooms for whatever reason."

That thought was certainly terrifying to the band of ultimate students, that they could be taken away a moved around at any point without their consent, possibly getting moved to another place just for falling asleep. As if they needed more reason to worry.

"As…As disturbing as that all is," Junko started again, obviously trying to change the subject. "I'm still lost as to what happened at this trial that you guys were going on about, and what was that part about Sayaka?"

Said pop idol startled at the sudden mention of her name, but before she could say anything, Celeste decided to summarize the whole affair. "Sayaka attempted to kill Leon and tried to pin the blame on Makoto. However, she made a grave miscalculation and was forced to retreat. By mistake, she stabbed Hiro and was knocked unconscious. Afterwards, it seems that both Leon and an unknown person brought them both to the infirmary and treated their wounds."

Sayaka flinched at the brutal summarization of her crime, the pit in her stomach widening just a bit more, but that overall ignored by a piece of information that she herself had been unaware of. "Wait, Leon was the one who saved me?"

She turned in her seat to look at the boy behind her as she asked, but had to do a double take when she took in his expression. If she had to compare it to anything, she might have said that he looked a mix of, "swallowed a fresh lemon and lime drink, minus the sweetener" and, "just realized what goes on behind closed doors". The mix of pensive anger, disgusted horror, and downright hostile aura was a sight to see. She was stunned silent just by the sight, and thus wasn't able to comment when the gambler continued with a smile full of mischievous intent.

"Indeed. It would appear that he had been smitten by your looks and decided to save your life in spite of your actions against him. It was truly a note while move on his part, like a knight out to protect his ward."

"S-Shut up! It's not like that!" the now red faced, red-head firmly denied the accusation. "I just…w-well, I couldn't just leave her to die! She was just really freaking scared, that's all! Monokuma fucked with her head, same as all of us!"

Despite her feelings on the matter, Sayaka found herself feeling touched by the all-star's actions. Even after all she had done to him, he had still gone out of his way to help save her life, not just once, but twice! During the night after her attempt on her life, and again in the trial, he had risked it all to protect her. If there had ever been any doubts in her mind about giving up her bonds again for her own gain, they were swiftly demolished by the truth of why she still breathed.

Yet, despite that question warming her heart, it still left another question unsolved. "But, then who was the other person involved?"

Leon tensed up at the question, his lip clamping shut as a look of fear coated his face, which only grew worst when Byakuya threw in, "Unfortunately, we were unable to figure out who they were. Only Leon, said mysterious figure, and the mastermind know, and it's very apparent that neither are willing to say."

"L-Look I've already said it, like, a hundred times! I can't say anything! I promised not to say!" Leon snarled back at the rich boy. But before Byakuya could do more than glare hostilely, there was another voice that interrupted him.

"Okay, okay, whatever." Junko interrupted impatiently. "We get it already. You aren't talking, and nothing we say can change your mind. Fine, why waste any more breath on it. What _I_ want to know is what else I missed out on, and why I'm currently the only one without any breakfast right now."

"Ah! That's right!" Taka chimed in with realization, and completely ignored the girl's impatient and rather rude tone. "You were still unconscious when we went to the second floor, and we were just finishing up when you got here! Very well! I shall take it upon myself to enlighten you on the matter!"

"And I'll get you something to eat." Hina chimed in, heading for the cafeteria as Taka went out of his way to inform the tired girl about what they had uncovered thus far, the others chiming in whenever he neglected on a few details. After about a few minutes, both for the swimmer's prepping and for the group to answer any questions the fashionista had for them.

"So, backing up a sec. Sayaka." Junko finally stated once they were finished explaining what she'd missed out on. "You were the one who started all of this then."

There was no question in her tone as she icily stared at the pop sensation, who flinched back at the reminder. "Y-Yes. I let what Monokuma showed me and my own fears blind me. I won't make any excuses. I'm sorry."

There was a scoff from Byakuya at that, and he made no attempt to hid his contempt. ""Sorry" doesn't change the fact that you did give in."

She flinched back at that, knowing that he had a point. She did give in, she did give up, and she deserved the criticism. Had anyone had a chance to attempt to rebuke Byakuya for his attitude, she would have told them that it was fine and excepted his remarks. However, before anyone could say anything one way or another, Junko interrupted with a tone that allowed no arguments.

"Someone, wheel Sayaka over here. I need a word." Her demand was so sudden that the others didn't know what to say. They had been caught so completely off guard by her request that many of the group of ultimate students didn't know what to say in response. Her expression didn't help matters, as it was stern yet not necessarily angry. It raised some concerns that the injured fashionista might try to commit something violent on the other injured girl.

"W-Why do you need her to come c-close?" Toko uttered from her self-appointed space away from the group. "C-Can't you just t-talk to her where she is now?"

"I could, but the impact of what I'm about to say would be lost. So, can someone push her over here or not?" Junko's gaze didn't leave Sayaka's through her explanation, and as a result, it did nothing to inspire any confidence against the idea that there would be bloodshed if the model got her hands on the idol.

As such, it was a complete shock when Sayaka reached over and nudged the baseball star next to her and asked him, "Leon, could you help me get over to her, please?"

Leon merely gave her a double take and stared with wide eyes. "Wha…? Sayaka, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's fine." She replied in turn, her fake smile once more back as she took in his confusion. "I don't believe she'll hurt me too much. I'll be fine. Right Junko?"

"What she said." Junko agreed, but that blunt emotionless tone still had him worried. Unfortunately, despite how much he wanted to protest, Sayaka clearly wasn't going to change her mind about this. So, with a heavy sigh, he stood up once more and began to wheel the pop sensation over to the other side where the fashion icon sat. He intentionally ignored the searching eyes of the others while they moved, as well as Junko's unwavering gaze on him and his charge.

When the task was done, the two girls thanked him for his help, and then locked eyes on each other. One stern, with an unwavering glare. The other with a nervous gaze, yet unflinching against the metaphorical daggers being thrown her way. The mood was tense as the class of seventy-eight watched the two girls have their stare off. Some like Hifumi, actually started to sweat as time continued to pass, the stress of anticipation slowly becoming too much for them to handle.

Just when the pressure seemed like it couldn't get any more unbearable, Junko's right arm lashed out and gripped the idols chair. Sayaka flinched in response, having thought the other wounded women would have slapped her or committed some other act of violence on her. Though, that was still possible considering the massive sneer on the strawberry blonde's face. Slowly, Junko pulled her wheel chair close, her right eye clenching as well as her teeth from the pain. The idol flinched as she was slowly pulled closer, fear started to grow a bit as the blue-eyed girl reached forward the moment the chair bumped up against the still chair, and gripped her shoulder roughly.

"Sayaka." The girl said the idol's name threateningly. "I'm only gonna say this once. I'm forgiving you _this_ time because you have them backing you up, but if you ever do something that completely _stupid_ again, you won't need to worry about the two-tone pedo-bear punishing you, because _I'll_ do it for him. Understand?"

Sayaka flinched once more, the threat but a foot note compared to the glare aimed her way. It was like the model was staring straight into her soul, demanding an answer from her. So, with some hesitation, Sayaka told the angry girl the truth. "I understand. I won't do anything like that again. I promise."

"And Leon, Makoto." Junko continued, not taking her eyes off of the girl as she addressed the two boys. "Do you guys think she's being honest? Can you say without any hesitation that you believe her?"

The two boys representing luck and baseball briefly exchanged a look of uncertainty. Did they believe Sayaka's claim? They definitely believed in the girl's apology, and forgave her for her actions, but did they trust that she wouldn't try anything like this again? Did their faith in her extend to the idea that she would never attempt to kill someone again?

Makoto took in that thought, and ran it in his head. He internalized every facet of what he knew and believed in, then with a glare filled with determination, turned to Junko too say, "I do. I believe her, without a doubt."

Leon did the same as well, considering his own thoughts and bearing in mind Sayaka's actions and apology. He remembered the actions he had taken and the promises he had made and then raised his fists determinedly. "Yeah, what Makoto said. I believe in her too. No doubt about it!"

"You're sure?" Junko asked once more, finally turning her eyes away to look at the two boys. "Absolutely, positively sure?"

They didn't reply verbally, only nodding resolutely to her interrogation. Her eyes narrowed, searching for something in their faces, their expressions, their body movements, all to see if there was even a hint of doubt in their claims. When she didn't see anything, or at least they hoped she didn't, her eyes moved back to Sayaka's which snapped back to the fashionista's. Junko hummed in contemplation, clearly doubtful of their declarations. Then, in a move that surprised everyone, suddenly pulled Sayaka in close.

And gave the idol a hug.

As Sayaka was trying to rationalize what was happening, as well as trying to ignore the small spike of pain in her side at the movement, Junko spoke in her ear. "Don't you ever do something like that again. I know you said you wouldn't, but I don't ever want to see something like that again if I can help it. Remember, we're all supposed to be working together, right? So, don't you ever, and I mean _ever_ , make me see you do something that idiotic again."

Sayaka was stunned silent by the diva's words, the raw amount of fear for that Junko had proclaimed for her sake, complete with a small hint of frustration, caught the pop sensation utterly flatfooted. It only got more bizarre when she felt something wet drip onto the collar of her uniform. She couldn't believe it, Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Fashionista who had been so abrasive to everyone about wanting to escape and such, was now crying on her shoulder. It wasn't more than a single tear, there wasn't even any sobs from her either. Yet, the simple fact that the strong headed girl had shown off even a fraction of weakness had completely stunned the blunette into complete silence.

And just like that, it was over. Junko pulled back with a hiss, grabbing at her leg with clenched teeth as she did so. "Guh…Damnit, that was stupid. Gonna have to get used not doing things like that. Fuckin' hell, that hurt."

Sayaka still didn't know what to say in response to what had just occurred. All she was able to offer up was a single, "Uh…"

"Don't overthink that." Junko demanded with a glare, which lessened as she spoke. "I just want to make my point clear. If you don't think you can trust someone, if you think you're all alone in here, remember that we all are here to help you out. Am I right everyone?"

The sudden inclusion into the conversation caught the other just as off guard as the sudden hug had for Sayaka, but after a moment, Taka recovered the fastest. "Y-Yes, that's exactly right! As she said, we need to stand together if we're to defeat this murder game and the mastermind!"

"Y-Yeah!" Chihiro agreed, lightly pumping her fists as her confidence grew. "We're all friends here, right?"

There was a scoff from Byakuya at that, but anything he or Sayaka would have said was cut off when Hina finally came back with a big stack of pancakes and passed them to the crippled girl. "Here you go!"

"Thanks." Junko said kindly, if tiredly, before turning to the others as well. "You guys too. With my new little handicap, a doubt I would have been able to check it all out."

"Do not worry about it!" Taka exclaimed joyfully, "It was my pleasure! Besides, we all need to know what's happening so that we can all escape together!"

"Yeah, what you said." There was a strange disconnect to her words as she stared at the stack before her. It was like she hadn't ever seen something like it, the way she stared at the small pile of buttery, syrup drizzled, flat cakes, and it actually started to concern the swimmer.

"What's wrong?" Hina asked out of concern. "You never have pancakes before? They're really good! Well I mean, they're not as good as doughnuts, but…"

"No, no. It's totally not that." Junko denied with a dismissing hand wave. "I'm just shocked at how fast you made these. I mean, even if you had the batter premade, it should have taken you, like, ten to fifteen minutes or so."

"Ah, I get it." Hina said with relief that she hadn't somehow insulted her friend. "But, sorry, I just took them from the pile in there. I just heated them in the microwave."

"Pile?" Junko asked as she turned to look at the tan skinned girl, but it was the biker next to her who answered.

"Yeah, there's a fuck-ton of them in there." He stated as he shoved another bite into his mouth and used his tongue to cram it all into his cheek so that he could still be mostly understood. "Found them all this morning before the meeting, and well, we've been helping ourselves."

"Wait, so you just _found_ a bunch pancakes and started eating without even thinking to question _why_ there were so many in there?"

There was a moment they all looked around at each other, stunned silent by the remark from the now very concerned fashion model. They then looked back at their plates, most empty aside from a few pieces here and there and some buttery syrup. They had no words to defend their actions, nor did they have any idea of where these flapjacks had come from.

"…Uh, mister Owada? You _were_ the one who made these…Right?" Hifumi muttered nervously, to which the biker slowly shook his head.

"Hell no. I'm no cook. Last time I tried to make something, I nearly burn down the house." Mondo admitted, not taking his eyes off of the nearly empty plate of what had been his third serving. "Unless my mom's cooking, I always just eat out."

"And no one was in the kitchen before you?"

"Nope." Mondo admitted to the fighter's inquiry. "I woke up early today so that I wouldn't have to deal with the fucking alarm guy. I was the first one here."

"And I was the last one to leave the night before, and I didn't see anything like this." Threw out a worried Makoto, more concerned with this new mystery then Mondo's casual insult of Taka's growing habit of waking them up.

"Ah. Then who made these?" There was an uncomfortable silence that followed after the programmer's question. No one had an answer, no one knew who it could have been. There were no ideas that anyone could come up with that would explain this conundrum.

Eventually, Junko decided that they didn't need to continue this silence. "I-In any case, I think I would prefer to eat this in my own room. Just…not feeling all that hungry right now all of a sudden, ya know."

"Y-Yeah, I got you." Hina stated just as nervously. Picking up the plate, knife and fork, she moved to head out the door just stopping to wait for her friend. Junko moved to grab her crutch and stand, but stopped after grabbing it to look at Taka.

"Well mister chairman?" she asked the sharply dressed boy, who startled out of his thoughts at being addressed. "Is the meeting over yet? Can we go now?"

"Oh…OH! Right! Ahem. I-I think that it's time to adjourn for now. We'll reconvene tomorrow morning, agreed?" Taka nervously stated looking around to see if there were any objections from the others. When there was none, the others got up right after him, their moves all stilted and nervous as they very reluctantly picked up their plates and moved to put them in the sink for later cleaning. Internally, they agreed with Junko. They had all lost their appetite as well.

However, as Junko stood and braced herself, she suddenly stumbled back and caught the heel of her crutch on one of the chairs' legs. Chihiro, who had been passing by, made a mistake of not moving immediately when the fashionista's support suddenly slid out from under her, causing her to pitch forward with a sudden yelp of shock and pain. For a brief panic filled second, the programmer managed to reach out and tried to catch the taller girl, but her meek frame and lack of physique prevented her from catching the much taller woman, resulting in them both tumbling down in a painful pile of bodies with a startled scream shared between them.

For Chihiro, this was certainly not the best day. First there was the morning announcement that made her a nervous wreck, and that was after the worries and nightmares from the night before dragging her spirit through the mud. Then there was the moment in the pool entrance, where not only were her fears put on full display, but she ran from her friend even when all Hina was trying to do was help. Then there was the unwanted mystery in the dining hall that made her feel really worried about what she had eaten that morning. Then, to top it all off, her weakness was proven to be even more underwhelming as her taller friend fell on her, and she was unable to stop them from hitting the ground for even a moment.

And now, she was being smothered by Junko's boobs as the fashionista lay on top of her. She honestly didn't know how to feel about that.

But the worst part of this entire day was when Junko moved her left leg in an attempt to get off of the smaller girl. When she fell, Junko's leg had fallen right between Chihiro's, just barely missing the smaller girl's crotch in the process, but when she moved, in caused her to brush up against something. Something that made the smaller girl tense up, and the taller to momentarily go ridged.

What was a gasp of pure, unadulterated horror was lost in the mounds of cleavage covering the lower half of Chihiro's face as her terrified eyes looked up in to the confused ones of Junko. Yet, it seems that her gasp was mistaken for one of pain and the others quickly moved to get the other girl off of her, Hina asking if they were okay.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm fine." Junko stated as Sakura lent the model her shoulder as Leon helped the smaller girl up. Patting Chihiro on the back, Leon repeated the question for the little programmer. Yet, there was no response from her as she just stared at the model in complete terror. She stood there quivering, waiting for something, for the girl in front of her to expose her secret that had been felt while they were down in a tangled-up mess. The thing that had haunted her throughout her whole life.

But, it never came.

Junko didn't say a thing as Sakura handed her the crutch and Hina joined the two as they escorted the limping girl out. Chihiro's gaze didn't leave the back of the fashion model until she had completely gone, and even then, she felt utterly terrified that the woman would turn around and blurt out her shame at any time. Expose her for the sham she was.

Yet still, it did not come.

Unbeknownst to Chihiro, as she hobbled, and expressed her hatred for their captor with a rather…colorful array of expletives, Junko did look back for a second as they left the dining hall.

And a wicked smile wove its way across her face.

* * *

"You sure you'll be fine?" Asahina asked for what felt like the hundredth time since they had left the cafeteria, understandably worried for her friend as they stopped by her door. Sakura stood by, ready to support her fellow classmates at any point.

To her dismay, she was waved off. "Hina, it's fine. I've got this. I'm just going to lay down for a bit, no need to worry."

"I know you say that, but…" the swimmer trailed off as her eyes flicked over to the crutch holding her friend up. It was clear that she was concerned for her friend and wanted to help. Sadly, her friend didn't want any, even going so far as to take the plate from the swimmer despite how she leaned on her little stand, just to prove the point. A small understanding smile grew on the face of her fashionable gal pal as she used her free arm to place a hand on Hina's shoulder.

"Hey, it's all good Hina. I'll be fine. You and Sakura go enjoy yourselves. I've got to rest, or I'll never recover enough to join you." There was a cheeky grin that grew on her face as she added, "After all, when I'm back in action, I'm totally going to swim circles around you, so I'd like it if you give me at least a _little_ challenge."

 _That_ certainly got Hina's attention. "No way! Not a chance! I'll swim around you so many times, you'll think you were in a whirlpool!"

"Looking forward to seeing you try!" I laughed back, slowly closing the door on the fuming swimmer as the amused fighter guided her away. Once I was sure the door was locked, I let out a giddy chuckle and started a little jig.

"Success!" I somehow managed to both shout and whisper at the same time, all but throwing the crutch to the side of the door as I grooved. "And they told me that I had no talent as an actor. Ha! Shows what you know drama club!"

I couldn't believe I had managed to pull that one off. Not a single person noticed the differences between me and Mukuro, and I was able to integrate into their click with them none the wiser. I'll admit, I had been worried there for a second. While my little speech to Sayaka I felt needed to be addressed, as it did paint a target on my back a bit, it was more a thought someone would realize that I didn't have Mukuro's freckles, though thankfully my red face made things easier to hide. I knew running up and down the hallway would help me sell the extremely tired outlook I was looking for. Thankfully, I was able to catch my second wind while I was sitting down.

Still, it was amazing that I got away with that. I had honestly expected Kyoko to have noticed something was up, as well as maybe Byakuya or Celeste. I feared that they would expose me for the fraud I was. But nope! If they noticed anything amiss, they were clearly keeping it to their chest; which worked splendidly in my favor.

"And the best part, I even got to start phase one of my plan for Chihiro! It's all _finally_ working how I intended! Everything's going- Ulp!" I quickly cut myself off before I could finish that sentence. "Nope. No, no, no. Murphy, you sit your ass right the hell down, you omnipotent bastard. I _didn't_ finish that thought, so you _cannot_ fuck my plan up! Don't you even _dare_."

I knew that I was just shaking my fist at the celling pointlessly, but I couldn't help it. I knew how these situations went, someone opens their damn mouth with some kind of line about things not possibly going wrong, or that everything was going their way, then _something_ goes horribly wrong. I don't care that it had been considered nonsense by some university in Oxford, I had seen too many instances in media to think that it won't affect me. I already tempt fate just by being here, I want nothing to do with pushing my luck.

Sighing after my little episode, a moved over to my dresser and placed the stack of pancakes on top of it. "Well, whatever. I'm still shocked that I had to ask them about these pancakes I made. I mean, _seriously_ , how did they not even think about how suspicious that was? My god."

Reaching down, I started unbuttoning the damn uniform I was wearing. God, how I hated this thing. It was soft and comfortable, it moved perfectly in tune with my body, and never tugged or scrapped any part of my body. If anything, it moved like a second skin, unhampering and wonderful.

Now, you might be wondering, "Why is that a bad thing? Wouldn't you want to be wearing something comfortable?" and the answer to that is a straight, flat out, no.

No, I didn't want to have this comfort if it meant that I had to know it was only this perfect because it had been made for this wretched body I was inhabiting. I would prefer a dress of sandpaper over this. I still felt nothing but loathing.

Ignoring the hate in me, for me, I tossed aside my top and shirt. Uncaring about any possible future wrinkles that would develop in the uniform, I let my far too small skirt hit the floor without a thought, I pulled the bunny and bow hair accessories from my hair, and started to unwrap the bloody bandages on my leg and placed them in the trash before looking at the fresh wraps on the edge of the dresser next to the ripped blood bag I had brought in from the nurse's office. I felt bad that someone's blood that was donated with the intent of possibly saving a life was being wasted for a disguise like this, but it was for important measures and plans.

Your sacrifice will not be in vain, random blood pack.

"Still," I said as I looked in the mirror and stared at my bust line as I cupped them in my hands. "You girls were what I was most worried about. I'm surprised not one of them commented on my bigger cup size."

It should be noted that, while they were twins, some aspects weren't the same between two Despair Sisters. Mukuro has freckles around her nose, darker hair, and slightly angular eyes, while Junko had more curves, a bigger bust by ten centimeters, and a far more expressive face. It had been a bit of a challenge to mimic the former's expressions without deviating at all that whole time, but it seems to have worked.

"What do you think…Sis?" I turned to look at the comatose figure in the queen-sized bed, hoping for a response. Sadly, my question would continue to be unheard as Mukuro continued to snooze, her sleep unhindered by the noise I'd been producing thus far. In a way, I felt disappointed.

I had been wanting to hear her thoughts on this matter in a more in person way for a while now, but it seemed that this wouldn't be the time. A disappointing outcome, but not one I didn't expect. Compared to the injury the others had suffered to the one she sustained, it's understandable that she would still be asleep for a little while longer at least.

Still though…

*Yawn* My thoughts were cut off when a large drowsy yawn passed through my lips, causing me to instinctually squint. A tiny number of tears peaked out and I was quick to wipe them away as my fatigue made itself known. I had been trying to ignore it all morning, but it was hard. Because of this damn game, I had only a small amount of rest between the two nights before the trial, both to give them their bands and to prevent Sayaka from enacting her plan of murder, and that was on top of the nightmare I suffered last night. Needless to say, my stamina was tanked. I felt ready to pass out at any second, and the sight of Mukuro passed out in the bed felt like it was taunting me.

I wasn't faking my exhaustion back there in the dining room. I was really flagging even before my little run through the hallway and it only got worst afterward. I didn't want to crawl through the vents back to the control center right now. If I tried, I think I would end up falling asleep and attempt to recover from the three nights of sleep I'd missed. Not a good idea, not with the Monokuma units roaming about the vents.

Truth be told, they don't seem to pay attention to any people they come across while they're in the vents, I say this because I tended to come across them several times and they didn't respond to me, but I tried to stay out of their way just in case. I didn't want to risk them deciding to attack me in my sleep if I passed out in there and became an obstruction.

But, do I dare sleep in the same bed as the Ultimate Solider, knowing that she might have been trained to kill anyone invading her space in her sleep? Do I try?

"…Fluff it. I'm too tired to care." With that said, I walked over to the left side and pulled the blanket open and crawled in, but I still stayed a fair distance away from Mukuro's side. Tired or not, I'm not that much of a risk taker. "Pardon the intrusion…sis."

Laying on my back, I felt my body quickly start to fall asleep. My consciousness started to fade as my eyes drooped close. My muscles relaxed as my tension unwound. It didn't take much longer before I was asleep.

* * *

"Hmm…" Kyoko let out as she studied the table before her, her eyes focused as she looked around, trying to make sense of the newest mystery that had become present to her and the others. She took in every detail of the kitchen as she did, pondering, theorizing, yet not letting any assumptions form from the little she had gathered.

It had been roughly and hour since the class had concluded their meeting and things were rather tense at the moment. With both the realization of the new risks presented to them and the sudden question as to where their breakfast had come from, the other's nerves had been rather rattled. Byakuya had reacted the least out of all of them at the news and silently tossed out the remains of his meal, while Mondo, who had still had a massive bite shoved in his maw, merely continued to eat. For the most part though, everyone else had followed the scion's lead, the only exceptions being Leon and Sayaka since they were still hungry; though they still made something else instead of finishing the stack. Now, there was just a small plate of them remaining, maybe only one serving or two.

But the questions still remained on the forefront of their minds, where did these come from, who made them, and why? There were other things to keep in mind as well, but these were the ones that held the most relevance currently.

The "where" had only recently been answered, something that the amnesiac girl had to thank Makoto for actually. As the lucky student was putting away his dishes he had noticed something about some of the bowls and called her over.

"Hey Kyoko, there's some dishes in the dishwasher here." He pointed out and sure enough, when she went to see there were a few bowls, a whisk, and a measuring cup among the pile of recently cleaned kitchenware. When she had gone to check them, she found that they still had a bit of moisture in the crevices of the lip of the bowls, signifying that they had been used recently, within a few hours certainly, but not during the time they had been investigating. They didn't have nearly enough moisture remaining on them for that to be the case.

Taka had been getting everyone up the second the morning announcement came, so that meant that they would have had to have come in at some point around the same time, but that in itself contradicted the fact that there had been far more pancakes made then anyone could have possibly been made in the short time window between the morning announcement and Mondo's arrival. That meant that they had to have been made at some time before then, yet that should also be improbable since the dining hall was locked during that time.

A frown worked its way onto Kyoko's face at the thought. That meant that someone had to have accessed the room before the scheduled time when it was locked, at a time no one should have been able to access it. This was now the second time that had happened, the first being the infirmary. Someone clearly had a way to go behind Monokuma's back and enter rooms they should otherwise be unable to, or alternatively, Monokuma himself was doing this.

Both options were concerning in their own way. If someone else was doing this, then it meant that they weren't going to be stopped easily. If their loyalties were to the half-and-half bear, then this posed quite the problem. There was no telling just how far their range of movement compared to the class was, or what they were able to access that they couldn't yet. They could kill anyone here before anyone could stop them, and then get away without trouble. They would be uncatchable.

If they weren't a traitor for Monokuma, then that still wasn't good because they clearly had no desire to simply open up a route of escape for them all. They could have confronted the mastermind by now if that was the case and escaped. So, either they had no desire to help more then they deemed necessary, or Monokuma had some kind of leverage on them that kept them from acting too much.

The last option where Monokuma was responsible doing this as well made the least amount of sense, but had enough plausibility to be considered. If perchance he was the one to open the door to the infirmary as he had claimed, as well as the one to cook their breakfast this morning, then that would answer how they would have access to these locked rooms. Yet, that left the question of "Why?" unanswered.

There was no gain for them to be doing things like this if they really wanted to get the killing game going. It was not only counterproductive, but it went against everything they had been stating thus far.

Unbidden, her mind went back what Monokuma had said just before he had given them their first motive, about how his wants and desires were irrelevant to the killing game. What had they meant by that exactly? Was it their way of saying that they had no choice in this as well, or was it a red herring meant to throw them off their guard. The latter seemed the most likely considering the actions they had been taking thus far. The taunts and jeers as well as the emotional manipulation tactics they had been employing against them were certainly convincing.

Yet, that little doubt kept coming back. If the one they thought was the mastermind was being strong armed, then that would explain some of the unknowns she and the others had learned of. The infirmary opening could be explained as their desire to give them all a fighting chance behind their puppet master's back, and the seemingly whim explanation Monokuma gave them about one of the players of this death-game convincing the mastermind to let them in was a farce to keep things going. But, that only raised another concern.

If the one running this show was forced to make them play this game of murder, then who was the one making them do it, and why?

There were just too few clues right now, too many variables that she couldn't find decisive proof for or against and it frustrated her tremendously. Plus, there was her own mystery that still needed solved on top of all of that.

It was just as she was thinking about this when Makoto suddenly spoke up, "Hey, Kyoko."

It had been so sudden that it almost caught her off guard, though she was quick to hide that fact. There was no point in showing weakness, even to someone as naïve and innocent as Makoto. "Yes?"

"I know I shouldn't ask this, but I'm a bit…concerned." He started, his eyes wandering to the entrance where the others had absconded, "Did something feel…different about Junko?"

That was an understatement, there were several things that had been off that the purple girl had seen of the fashion model during her short visit to the cafeteria that day, several concerning things that didn't quite match with how she had been during the last week they'd all been trapped in here. However, it was impractical to assume just what exactly Makoto was referring to, so she asked anyway. "What specifically?"

"Well, I know that she's hurt and from what she told us about Monokuma she didn't have a choice in the crutch, but, why did she go all the way to the dining hall. It had to have been absolute torture, and I-I'm worried she might be trying to push herself too hard, too soon. Yet…Well, I mean…maybe I'm just imagining it, but the way she was walking- err, limping." He corrected when he realized his mistake. "Did it seem a bit…I don't know…Forced?"

Ah, so that's what it was that he picked up. It was quite astute of him to have noticed that tiny detail. Kyoko agreed though. It was clear that Junko was still very weak, judging by how she had limped into the dining hall, but the simple fact that she was able to get up and move around after her ordeal was unprecedented. By all accounts, it shouldn't have been possible for her to even be limping as well as she had been; even if she had been clinging to the crutch like her life depended on it.

Even so, Makoto had a point. Even if she disregarded the improbability of Junko's quick recovery, something about the way she limped across the floor had seemed off. There was just something about it that made it feel… rehearsed, exercised, performed. Like she had every shambling step trained and timed internally like an adept actress playing her role. It was something that had clearly gone unnoticed by most, if not all of the rest of their classmates, so it was interesting that he had picked up on that little tidbit.

"I'm impressed you noticed." She couldn't help admitting, and she felt a slight tinge of amusement at his startled expression. "However, I agree, something about Junko was certainly different from the last time we'd seen her. Not just in her movements, but her attitude as well."

"Huh?" the luckster questioned, clearly not seeing what she meant. So, she elaborated a little.

"Remember her attitude towards us all thus far, and you will understand." A very little. It would do no good for him to rely solely on her observations. Like in their first trial, if he didn't make his own deductions, she doubted he would ever believe her thus far. Kyoko knew that there wasn't nearly enough evidence on her part to raise a convincing argument just yet, but letting him do his own investigations to find his own proof.

"…If you're sure." It was plainly obvious that he didn't understand where she was going with this line of thought. Or it was possible that he just didn't want to think badly of someone he considered a friend. Both possibilities were highly likely considering the lucky student's kind optimism.

However, that wasn't really any of her business. Whether he learned about whatever mystery their fashion model classmate had or not wasn't really her prerogative. As she expected, all she could do was push him to find out whatever it was the strawberry blond had covered up on his own. With any luck, that would be enough to figure out the answer to both of their questions about their strange fashionista.

* * *

It has been said that there were many ways to wake up from a night's rest. For some people, they think there is only one way, but the truth is that there are a large variety dependent on you as a person. If you are the kind of person who likes to move around a lot, then it's likely that you might be an early riser, always greeting the day early with a smile. For some who spend their nights awake, they prefer to sleep in, trying to recover from their late night. Some others overthink throughout the night, constantly waking up or at least sleeping so lightly that even the slightest sound jolts them into the waking world. No matter the case though, everyone has their own way of leaving the land of dreams and greeting the day.

In the case of Mukuro Ikusaba, she felt she fell into a variation of the last one. As a development from her time as a mercenary, she had grown accustomed to sleeping lightly. When your life if on the light every moment, you can't help but be on guard twenty-four seven. If you weren't able to jump from deep sleep to awake in an instant, you were just a liability; an easy target for whatever enemy they were facing at any particular point in time.

It was solely because of this lifestyle choice that she was able to live through the several assassinations attempts that she had intercepted during her time in the elite mercenary group Fenrir. Several times, when one or more of the group either accidentally or intentionally let someone escape, there usually wasn't too long a wait before an assassin was sent their way with the express purpose of revenge. More often than not, the hired gun would go after the ones who looked weaker, or more important than the rest of the soldiers.

Eight out of ten times the former would be her, and six out of ten times, the latter would still be her. As the youngest member of the group and as the only girl who carried none of the tone or look of military strength that the other females held, she was targeted the most of them all. Hence why she had a higher sensitivity to her sleep, and why she was worried whenever she found herself in a situation where she had no idea where she was.

Kind of like right now.

Worst still was this sudden feeling of weakness in her entire body, making her every movement feel sluggish and weighty, like trying to move through sludge. It was so difficult for her to even open her eyes, or to move anything at all. And then there was the warm feeling enveloping her left side and there was the other unknown numb pain coming through her right leg. Both didn't make any sense to her unnervingly groggy mind and that did nothing to help her memory either.

It was with far more effort than it should have been that she forced her eyes to open, and started to assess her surroundings. It was rather quickly that she realized from her preliminary scan that she was back in the room she shared with her sister. It wasn't that difficult to notice, as the large dresser covered in cosmetics, her combat knife and a certain wig that she found irritating stood off to one side where she knew it was supposed to be. While she could have made a more thorough examination, the fog in her mind made it difficult to focus, so she begrudgingly let any further checking go ignored in favor for the more pressing concerns.

Turning her head slowly, just in case there was something or someone ready to attack her in her clearly weakened state, she looked down to see what was clinging to her side. It took a minute to realize exactly what was going on, but it quickly resulted in her eyes widening in shock and confusion.

Clinging to her side was a very, _very_ familiar women. Her long bleached-hair was like a waterfall, a cascade of pink tinted gold that flowed down into small pools. Her heart shaped face held a soft peaceful expression of bliss as she softly breathed into Mukuro's neck. The women's arms reached over Mukuro's body, her left arm lightly grasped the soldier's right shoulder softly, yet almost possessively, and her other arm was behind the small of her back and clung to the dark-haired girl's love handle. Both of the women's legs were wound to her own left leg, trapping the limb tightly, yet not painfully.

Her continued examination was cut off when she realized that the other women was waking up, Mukuro's movements having apparently roused the sleeping girl from her slumber. Blue-eyes looked out from behind fluttering eyelids, unfocused and tired from having just been woken up. However, when they latched onto Mukuro's, her eyes snapped open with a look of surprise, joy, and finally guilt. Then before the brunette could say anything, they then gained a slightly mischievous twinge that promised nothing but regret for her future as a matching grin worked its way onto the girl's face.

"Was it good for you too?" Junko said with a happy, yet exhausted tone. Mukuro was confused by what she meant before taking in their position, at which point her mind crashed.

' _Oh…Oh! Oh, god we didn't…!'_ her mind panicked as revulsion and regret warped her features. ' _I-I don't…I mean, we're sisters. Why would she- me- WE, do something like…Oh my god, I just- I can't…'_

Instinctually, Mukuro's eyes glanced downward to see if what she was being told was true and they raised wide open when she realized that she could see the girl's lack of dress, only a bra strap could be seen peeking out from under the covers. Yet, her eyebrows quickly dropped back down when her sister shifted and she felt the women's underwear rub up against her leg. That relief was only increased when she realized that she herself was still in her own undergarments. She quickly realized that the girl was lying and felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

Which quickly turned to exasperated annoyance when her sister started giggling like a loon. "Wow sis, where _did_ your mind go to just now? If I didn't know better, I would have assumed your mind was a deep in the gutter as Hifumi's."

There was no preamble or fan fair to Mukuro's next actions, as she pulled her arm from the squishy confines of her sister's larger bust…

"Whoa!" *thud*

And pushed her off of the bed.

"…Really?" Junko's deadpanned expression could be heard over the edge of the mattress. "That's how you react to a little dirty humor? I don't even know how to react to that kind of information…Should I be proud that your prideful enough that you wouldn't want to reciprocate or upset that you ruined my fun early...? Eh, whatever."

Mukuro watched as her sibling quickly jumped up from her position on the ground and gave Mukuro another grin. "I've got a surprise for you."

Mukuro instantly tensed up at the happy, friendly tone of her sister's as she moved towards the dresser. If there was one thing she knew about her sister, it was that she was never this nice unless there was some ulterior motive involved. That feeling of dread only grew more when Junko turned around holding a large stack of flapjacks, and bearing a wide grin.

"Ta-da! Look, I made you some breakfast in bed. Sorry if they're a bit cold, but I didn't know when you were going to wake up. I was worried that they would go bad before then, but it seems that won't be the case. Here you go sis! Made with love!" And she quickly shoved the plate into Mukuro's hands, her smile never wavering. Mukuro glanced at the stack and slowly took the fork that had been lying next to the fluffy food and started carving, her mind instantly going over every known poison and way her sibling could have contaminated the food, a habit she had more then become accustomed to considering just who this was. It wouldn't have been the first-time Junko tried to poison her.

As she was starting to start physically dissect the plate of food, Junko interrupted her thoughts. "Well? It's not poisoned or anything like that if that's what your worried about. I wouldn't waste my time doing something like that right now. I still have far too much need for you still. Now hurry up and eat. We need to get your strength back up, or you'll never recover."

That caught her attention. Recover? What was she talking about? What could she be…?

There was a slight twinge of pain, a brief spike that caught her off guard originating from her right leg. She was so confused that it even occurred that she almost didn't notice Junko shaking her shoulder with a look of worry on her face.

Then, it clicked. The reason her leg hurt. The injury Junko said she needed to recover from, and the events leading up to it. Her eyes raised in shock.

Then dropped into a deathly glare.

"You…" Mukuro growled, her eyes becoming deathly cold as she scowled at the cause of her new injury. "You did this. You _lied_ to me. You tried to kill me, Junko!"

Her sister took a step back away from her, but there was no surprise in her eyes. Like she expected this reaction from Mukuro to happen. The thought only pissed the solider off more, so much so that she threw of the sheets covering her and attempted to stand, uncaring about the plate that went flying to the side where it shattered on the ground. She didn't know what she would do afterwards, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get up in her sister's face about what she had done.

That plan immediately fell through as she did when the wound in her leg suddenly started wailing in pain and caused the limb to give out on her. From her new spot on the floor, she bit her lip as tears started to well up as she instinctually grabbed the wounded limb. She didn't know if it was from the pain in her leg or the agony in her heart that her tears flowed, nor did she care. Her focus was on seeing just how extensive the wound was.

Moving her leg ever so slowly, she carefully maneuvered it around, yet each time she tried to straighten it out, a sharp jolt of agony stopped her. She was clearly unable to stand, and no amount of training she could have endured would change that.

"Extensive…nerve damage…" She muttered, her observation filling her with even more anger and frustration. The painful burning sensation only adding to those feelings of usefulness and rage as she turned her eyes to the one who did this to her.

"Why…?" She asked, no, begged her sister. Pleading for an answer to this betrayal. "I did what you asked of me. I followed your plans, your failsafe, everything! I did everything you asked of me so why…Why did you betray me! Was it because I wasn't able to kill Makoto right away? Because I was trying! I swear, I was just need some more time to make it perfect. Was it because I backtalked to you? Because I thought that was what you wanted me to do! I thought I was playing the part like I was supposed to! I thought-"

A long, drawn-out sigh cut off her further questioning. "Geez, I keep forgetting how overly dramatic you can be, and how easily you fail to see what's right in front of you."

Any further arguments that Mukuro would have had, and from the livid feelings that had spiked at her feelings of betrayal being dismissed there would have been a lot, died in her throat as her sibling shook her head in disappointment. It wasn't fair. That look was all it took to silence her rage and replace it with a terror that silenced her completely. Yet, she was able to choke out, "What do…What do you mean by that?"

"Okay, you want to know _why_ I tried to kill you," Junko stated with understanding, seemingly ignoring her question for the moment. "and that's perfectly understandable, I would be miffed too if it happened to me. Well, simply put, it's because you broke the rules, moron."

The glare on her sister's face conveyed nothing, not anger, not sadness, nothing. It was completely unreadable, like a statue, and it reminded Mukuro far too much of her former drill sergeant. While she was stunned by the sudden hostility, Junko continued.

"I have gone through hell and high water, just to make sure that those bozos out there know just how serious I am about them following the rules. I told you over and over again, _over and over again_ , do not break the rules, and more importantly, do _not_ attack Monokuma. Then what do you go and do? You try to stomp his face in. I _had_ to enforce the rules after that kind of stunt or risk everything falling on its face."

Mukuro stayed silent at her sister's rage, her fear of her sister's fury preventing her from speaking back. It was different then when it was through Monokuma, the robotic bear was far harder to take seriously no matter what was said. Yet, even in nothing but her bra and panties, Junko in person was a far might more intimidating. It only got worst since Junko's voice was starting to get more verbose.

"You say that _I'm_ the one who lied here, and that I betrayed you, but _you_ are the one who misunderstood what I said and fucked up some basic orders. Tell me, right now, tell me what I told you to do. Word for word, what did I say?"

Mukuro struggled to reply, her thoughts still a mess from the talking down Junko was giving her, but with stuttering breath she managed to choke out, "Y-You told me to make a fuss when the first murder happened after you explained the rules to us, and to provoke Monokuma into leaving the stage. O-Once that happened, I was supposed to stand on top of the trap door and keep antagonizing Monokuma until you opened the door."

"Exactly." Junko replied, her voice so cold that Mukuro could feel the shivers running down her spine. "But you see, the key words here are, 'make a fuss', 'provoke', and 'antagonize'. Nowhere in there did I say to curb stomp him, attack him, or anything of the sort. That was all you. And because of that, I _had_ to at least make it look like I was trying to kill you. Otherwise the gig would be up, and everyone would be on the revolt."

Mukuro tried to speak up, tried to retort in some way, but her sister's rant wasn't over. "Plus, on top of that, you did it in front of everyone! Jiminy Christmas, do you have even the _slightest idea_ of the amount of bull I had to pull to save your life after that stunt!? You're _so damn_ lucky I still need you, otherwise I'd have let Leon murder your ass with that transfusion. So many new rules I had to implement just to allow you to stay alive, you absolute _moron_!"

That hurt, that part at the end had really hurt. Junko had always been harsh with her criticisms throughout the years, and Mukuro was usually used to being on the receiving end of these remarks. However, those had rarely had any real heat, if any at all. This time her sister looked ready to kill someone, and that simple difference was enough to cause the brunette twin to quiver in fear.

It was almost comical, she could face up against armadas of fully equipped men three times her weight-class and armed to the teeth with all kinds of guns, knives, and other such armaments without a thought or care, yet the moment this untrained civilian in her undergarments glares in her general direction, she becomes completely powerless. If her commander saw her now, he would be so disappointed.

Yet, that wasn't the main focus on her mind as of the moment. Rather, it was something Junko had let slip. "What…What do you mean Leon almost killed me…?"

Her sister sighed roughly, clearly irritated to have to explain this to her as she grumbled. "Right, you weren't really 'there' at the time. Well I mean you _were_ , but…"

Taking in a deep breath, Junko kneeled down to look her in in the eyes. "Okay, so, after our slight _problem_ in the gym, the others dragged you to the infirmary where they removed the spear of Gungnir. After that, Leon decided to grab a packet of blood from the fridge, and he had the others use your E-handbook to find out your blood type. You keeping up so far?"

Mukuro nodded along to her sister's explanation as the memory started to comeback. What Junko was saying did match up with what she could remember of it happening. Some details were still a bit muddy, but she couldn't think of them being that important.

"Well," her blond-dyed sibling continued. "here's where the problem comes in. Do you remember exactly _who's_ handbook you were using at the time?"

"Yours." Mukuro didn't even need to think about it, the answer was obvious. It had been part of Junko's plan from the beginning, a safety measure to prevent them from finding out her disguise. Her handbook had been swapped with Junko's to help hide the fact that they'd switched. However, that didn't explain what her sister was talking about. Why did that matter?

"Right, mine." Junko confirmed with a nod of her head. "You had my E-handbook. Which means, you had my profile, my bio, _my data_. So, really quick, what is your blood type again?"

The elder twin didn't quite understand just where she was going with this just yet, but the unusual focus Junko was putting on this only made the solider nervous. Still, she answered, "My blood type is A, but what does that have to do with this?"

"Oh, my _god_." Junko groaned in exasperation, dropping her face into both of her hands. "How are you this unobservant? Seriously? You're supposed to be this god-tier super soldier, but you can't even put _that_ obvious bit together. Sakes alive."

Pulling her face out of her hands and ignoring the rising mortification of Mukuro, Junko continued. "Look, we're twins. Right? Right. But there's enough differences between us that you couldn't tell unless we say it. The biggest one here though, is that we _don't_ share everything that there would be a problem if you were to be given something that should go to me. Are you following me so far?"

Mukuro nodded slowly, the pieces were starting to form the picture in her mind, and these hints were helping, but there were just enough that she couldn't quite see what would come of this. Sadly, her sister was far too agitated by her silence and wasn't going to give her the time to do it herself.

"Mukuro, _my_ blood type is AB. Do I even need to say that is what is in my E-handbook, or what would have happened if I _didn't_ remotely change it days ago?"

She didn't need to say it, the image alone was more than enough to cause the blood to drain from her face and pool in a pit in her stomach. If she had been given the same blood as what was supposed to be in the handbook, she would likely have died from an ABO incompatibility reaction. Combined with the loss of blood and whatever possible infection she might have gotten from her wound, there was no chance for her survival. She would have died, and that would have been it.

Worst still, if what Junko had said was true, which of course it was since this was Junko she was talking about, then it would have been by complete mistake and Leon would have been crowned the blackened for doing her in. Then he would have been executed with no need for a trial since everyone saw him do it. Plus, it would have been a problem for Junko. If Mukuro died because of something written in her own handbook, then it would raise suspicion against Junko since they believed that they were the same person. That was something that neither twin wanted to happen.

"I see you understand now." Junko said as she stood back up again. "And you likely see why I couldn't just let you die after that. It would have caused far too many problems. That's why you're still alive."

The matter of fact way she said that threw Mukuro for a loop. It stabbed at her so close to home that she froze, staring up into the slightly younger girl's eyes. Yet, it was because of that position that she could see something was…off. There was also a look in her eyes that didn't quite match up with what she was saying. Like a stage act. It was…different then the looks she had been use too seeing from her sibling.

However, before she could do much more than that, a sock covered foot suddenly met her cheek and pressed down. "Now, if you really want to make it up to me for risking so much to keep you alive, you will get back in bed. You have to recover after all."

Mukuro winced when Junko pushed her away, not quite kicking her, but certainly rough enough that she felt a shameful heat momentarily spike in her gut. One of the biggest problems that came from working so hard to avoid being damaged was that her pain tolerance was incredibly low. As such, she was rather sensitive in more than one way, and whenever her sister was involved it usually ended up turned against her. It was embarrassing for her to admit, but because of her lack of suffering and pain, her mind had created a bit of a desire to feel pain for herself, but her sister's words and Mukuro's own choice in career made the idea feel ludicrous so she abstained. Plus, there was the fact that she couldn't risk inciting her sister's wrath.

So, to her utter shame, whenever Junko's abusive love turned physical, Mukuro felt that desire surface anew. It was only because of that desire that she let her sibling kick her around. That masochistic desire that only her sister was allowed to know about.

She had been so lost in her own world that she almost missed the sight of her sister stepping over her and throwing the covers on the bed back. Then, to make things even more confusing, Junko reached down and slipped her arm under Mukuro's and started to pull. "Well? You gonna help, or what?"

Mukuro was shocked by the sudden shift in attitude, yet the tone remained the same irritated frustration as before. It was only because of the endless amount of love and fear she held for her sister that allowed the injured girl to move as she had been ordered. She flinched painfully when her sister forced her damaged limb to move, and again when she was forced to sit down on the bed. Then, she watched as Junko then forced her to lay on her back and started to unwrap the dirty bandages on her leg. Carelessly tossing the soiled cloth at the trashcan across the room, the fashionista then moved to the dresser and grabbed a fresh roll before waltzing back to her bedside and started wrapping the clean wraps around her wounds tightly.

Mukuro couldn't help but stare as her sibling almost caringly wrapped her leg. She never knew her sister had any knowledge in the medical field, let alone could act professional about it. In a way, it was like when Mukuro herself entered a battle in a way. All distractions fading from her mind, nothing but the task in front of her. It was like what she could see on Junko's face right now. Pure focus on the task, nothing else.

She was so distracted by the thought that she didn't even realize her sister had finished dressing her wound until the girl straightened up and started walking away. Momentarily taking her eyes off of Junko, Mukuro looked at the professionally done wrap with a feeling of wonder. It might have just been Junko's talent as an analyst in play for all she knew, but that didn't detract from the careful wrappings adorning her leg. Though, thinking about it, Junko might have learned how to do all of this from Tsumiki at some point.

It would make sense, Mikan Tsumiki was the one who had spent the most amount of time with Junko during her recovery. If there was one thing Junko would have done in that kind of boring situation, it would be to gather information to use at a later time. First aid wouldn't be the first thing Mukuro would have guessed her sister would have asked about, though she guessed if Junko was bored enough, she would likely ask about anything.

Still, she couldn't help but look at the wrappings in awe, never having expected such professional work from her easily bored sibling. Professionalism was boring, that was something Junko had told her once, and seeing her do the very thing that she had mocked was stunning to the solider.

Her thoughts were once again interrupted when she heard the door to the room open up, and for a brief moment felt a bit of panic. Did Junko forget to lock the door? She shook her head at the thought. Junko was not that forgetful, she wouldn't be that absentminded. However, when she turned to look she was met with the unusual sight of her sister, now dressed as normal, leaning on a crutch of all things and carrying the shattered plate of ruined pancakes. While she did feel a twinge of guilt for ruining the food, in was vastly overshadowed by the feeling of confused horror as her sister started hobbling away. She wanted to call out, ask what the hell Junko was doing, but her voice died in her throat when her sister turned and gave her a glare.

"We'll continue this conversation later." Junko said icily as she slowly closed the door. "I've got some…business to take care of. Rest up. You'll need it."

And on that ominous note, Mukuro was left behind with nothing more than the shivers running along her spine, and a feeling of fear.

Fear for herself. Fear for her sister.

And finally, fear for her friends.

* * *

 **Hoo boy, who saw this one coming? The old switch-a-roo, hidden agendas, and Leon almost killed Mukuro while trying to save her. It true though, their blood types don't quite match up, so Junko could accept blood from Mukuro, but the opposite could possibly kill Mukuro. But really, who would believe Junko would try and save her anyway? Be honest here.**

 **The real question though is, who figured that out earlier?**

 **See you again next month.**


	20. A programmer's Despair

"Stupid Mukuro, thinking I don't know what's what."

I grumbled lowly to myself as I faked a limp down the halls of the academy, my frustration on full display as I did so. I knew I should be a bit more cautious with my emotions right now, but I couldn't help it. There was something that I found inherently infuriating about people who act like how she was just then. They don't try to think of the ramifications of their actions, they don't try and think about why someone else does what they do, they just throw the blame at someone else. No thought to the 'why' or 'how', just blame.

Now, to be fair, I did understand where she was coming from with this. She was in a lot of pain at the time, pain that I had caused her no less. I was in the wrong in that situation, so I deserved that. I wasn't going to deny that. It was only fair that I take the part that I was due.

But, when she started getting hysterical about it, and started blindly raving, that was where I drew the line. I'll be honest, I lost my cool there for a bit though, and I may have treated the situation a fair bit more violently then I should have. I couldn't help it though, I needed her to understand just what I was risking here, and with her lost in her hysterics, I had to respond in a way that she would listen to.

In any other situation, I maybe could have tried to dissuade the situation from escalating. I could have calmly explained why I had done what I had, apologized for it, and worked to make it right. If things got too heated, I could use my training to subdue her and force her to calm down like I had done with Genocide Sho. If she was like most people, I could have negotiated with her, talked it out, and ended this peacefully.

Mukuro was not like most people though, and this wasn't a normal situation. This was a circumstance where I was living as another person in another world and forced against my will to make people play a killing game and all while being in the body of the Ultimate Soldier's twin sister. There was nothing _normal_ about that.

Plus, Mukuro wasn't exactly what I would call, "stable minded". Child soldier voluntarily, verbal and physical punching bag for her twin sister, has zero regard for human life, and possibly suffered from stunted emotional growth at an early age. Those were just the ones I was able to figure out from her profile and from what I had seen of her, and even that felt more like guesswork than anything else. However, the one thing that was clear was that she would do anything if it meant making her sister happy. She cared so much for her sister, that she was willing to doom the world.

Problem was, Junko was anything but returning her love, and she was more than aware of it. Rather, she expected it from her younger twin, she welcomed the pain that came with what she believed was Junko's love, all the while either ignoring or outright missing the reasoning behind her sibling's actions. Because of that, my act was a million miles harder to pull off than any other I'd done.

I had a problem with willingly hurting people you see, and I am one of the people that enjoys being the good guy in people's mind, and the one they can come to if they need someone to vent with. I like to see people happy, and while I'm not willing to throw down everything to see every single person smile, I'm willing to be there for them. Just seeing someone sad makes me instantly feel mad at whatever made them cry, and I try to help if I can. I guess that's why I can relate with Makoto the most out of most of the students here.

I'm not a villain type, is what I'm getting at. Oh, I can fake it with the best of them, but I hate hurting others for any reason. Unfortunately, that's the role I've had to play and if I deviate too far, too soon, I risk everything falling apart.

At the thought, a started slowing down a bit as a more miserable expression worked its way onto my face. I hated this, I hated this whole stupid situation I'd found myself in. I hated that I had to be the villain of this story, to be the tormentor in this game of life and death. I hated that I had to hurt someone of my own…okay, not _my_ own, but sort of my flesh and blood just to keep her from getting hurt more. And I hate, hate, _hated_ that I was going to be riding these waves of guilt every time I had to do it. If this kept up, I'm gonna have to see a psychotherapist to sort out all this hate.

I wonder if Makoto was doing anything later.

"Why did I ever think being ' _her_ ' was a good idea again?" As I grumbled to myself, I continued on my way to see if I could find my objective of the hour. I'll admit, I was pretty much shooting in the dark about exactly _where_ they were, but if there were following the placements that I recalled from my time playing the game, then they had to be nearby the pool area at this time. Hence another reason for my frustration. The mortal enemy of cripples and overweight people alike.

Stairs.

Okay, that's a bit mean, but my point still stands! With me trying to avoid suspicion by pretending to be Mukuro, who was pretending to be me, I couldn't risk blowing cover by walking up the stairs and limping everywhere else. It would be hell to try and explain that if I got unlucky and stumbled upon someone on the trip up or down. The only option here was to bite the bullet and keep up the act.

I shouldn't need to explain how ball-bustlingly difficult it was to climb those stairs without giving into the temptation of using my right leg, but after that time-wasting adventure, I was finally on the second floor. With a pant of exertion, I took few more hobbled steps to the area that I was hoping that my target was residing at the moment.

The pool.

As I pushed open the light magenta doors, I was about to take a look around the room when I heard a soft gasp of shock. Instantly, my eyes snapped over to the source of the sound and a small grin forced its way onto my face. It seemed my guess was right for once.

"Hi~ Chihiro~"

* * *

' _Oh, no. What should I do? What should I do!?'_ These were the panicked thoughts of Chihiro Fujisaki as she paced back and forth in the entryway of the pool area, her stress at the peak of anxiety as she tried and failed to settle her nerves. But she couldn't help it, the fear gripping her heart was far stronger than any she ever had before.

After the meeting had concluded, she had rushed to her room straight away and locked herself in, refusing to come out for anyone. For two hours she stayed there, just about ready to cry, but not quite reaching the point where her tears would fall. Her body racked with sobs and every so often a few hiccups emerged from her chest. She had ended up curled up in a fetal position by the end of it, shivering in terror at prospect of her secret being revealed.

That dreaded secret of hers. That one thing that dictated her life since she was born and tormented her with its existence at every turn. It stood out among any of the things in her life that would have been used against her. No, it was the source of her problems, the fundamental hindrance that all other problems originated from, a weakness that was a product of nature beyond control. Her weakness that she couldn't defeat on her own.

The dreaded truth had held Chihiro down for years, forcing her to embrace her lie and pretend to be something she wasn't. It had been fine at first, a bit unorthodox and a bit embarrassing, but it stopped the suffering from those that didn't understand. Yet, after so long hiding under the lie, so many years of allowing falsehoods and misconceptions to form about her, she wanted nothing more than to tell the truth, to shed her veil of lies and be who she really wanted to be.

However, then they found themselves in this game, this deathmatch where only the smartest, the strongest, and the bravest had even the slightest chance of survival. Because of that, the dream of showing the truth died a fiery death. Chihiro held no delusions about her chances of survival, not with what she knew. She knew she was far from the strongest, her small figure and tiny frame lacked virtually any muscle that could be used to defend or attack from years of sitting in front of a computer screen and natural growth. She wasn't brave, that was for certain, just the thought of being in a fight almost drove her to tears and she would never find the nerve necessary to harm another. She was smart, that much she could proudly claim, but even that was useless as it all focused on the art of programming, nothing about survival, investigating, or other important studies that would be helpful in this situation.

Essentially, any chance she could have to reveal the truth was the first victim who died in this so-called game and all chances to change for the better flopped like a Koi on land. There was nothing she could do.

Then, the incident in the dining hall happened, and any of the brave wishes that she had oh so carefully scraped up ended up dashed across the floor. When Junko had fallen on her and felt the source of her problems, it was like her every moment was occupied with terror since then. At any moment, her secret could be told to anyone and it would only be a matter of time till the others learn of it. Then, the nightmare would begin. The taunts, the jeers, the insults from her all of her peers in this deathtrap academy would start. She would be constantly plagued by the looks of revulsion at every turn, hounded by disgust at every corner. Her every waking moment would be a nightmare that couldn't be escaped, trapped it this academy as they were. It had been that way every time she had attempted to speak of her secret in the past, and she held no delusions of it not becoming the case this time either.

As she lay there in her bed, tears following uncontrollably down her face as she slowly started to fall asleep, completely exhausted from her sobs and tears, a single thought invaded her mind. An idea so insane, that she couldn't help but pause.

' _If it's my weakness that keeps me from being happy, then why don't I do something about it instead of crying about it?'_ The second that thought hit her, her sobs died down as she began to ponder. Why _didn't_ she do something about it? She still had some time before Junko could reveal her shame, she still had time to change herself for the better, if only a bit. If she could take this time to work through this roadblock in her own life, then maybe, just maybe, she could turn it around so that she wouldn't need to feel ashamed anymore. This could be her chance to change, she thought, to become stronger so that she could face those fears of hers, to become better then she was. To become a new, stronger Chihiro Fujisaki.

She knew it was insane to believe that it would work, her weakness was something that had been with her for years and no amount of training she could undertake in however long Junko remained in her room could change that. Yet, in that moment, she didn't care about technicalities. She would do what she could right now and damn the expense!

That thought drove her as she snuck through the halls, avoiding the others without a thought otherwise. She was on a mission, one so important that she couldn't stop and chat. Though, that didn't mean that she didn't feel a bit guilty for ignoring them.

Fortunately, it was only Toko who she passed by without more than a single "Good afternoon.". The romance novelist was so anti-social that any continued conversation died shortly after it started, and that theme continued even today as she brushed off Chihiro's comment with a stuttered reply of, "W-What's so g-good about it?" before skulking off to her room. Chihiro wondered why she was always like that, always pushing away any sort of positivity aimed her way with bitter remarks, but ultimately, she didn't think further on the matter.

She had too much to do still and far too little time. It strained her heart horribly to ignore her friends and it made her feel sick doing so, but there was nothing that could be done about that right now. Her only hope left relied on getting stronger as soon as possible, so it was with heavy heart that that she let it go and continued moving.

Her destination, the pool.

Chihiro remembered that there where various training equipment found in the changing rooms, and as long as she was careful, she wouldn't have to worry about using them where the others would see her. No matter how much she wants to change, she still wasn't comfortable being seen doing anything that could reveal herself.

Which lead to her current predicament. Staring at the doors to the changing room, she couldn't help but fidget as she glanced between the two doors in concern. Embarrassing as it was to admit, she had been so caught up in her determination and resolve that she had outright forgotten why she hadn't been able to act on it in the first place.

The doors to the locker rooms and the implications behind using either.

If she used the door that she _should_ use, then the jig would be up. There wasn't a doubt about it, it was fact. There would be no way for her to deny the truth to anyone who saw her and the whole reason for coming here would be in vain. However, the door she _needed_ to use was inaccessible to her. If she even attempted to open it, she'd be filled with more holes then swiss cheese at a shooting range. Just the thought was nausea inducing. However, if she didn't do the training in there then it would never work. She would be exposed beyond a shadow of a doubt.

She'd also be dead…so that was less than ideal.

So, there she stood instead, awkwardly hovering by the doors that taunted her so, occasionally glancing up at the Gatling gun overhead. There was nothing she could do, nothing she could think of to get past this obstacle in her way. There had been a thought of hacking into her E-handbook and changing it to help in this endeavor, but that had been shot down on the first day.

After they had held the first meeting, she had made it her plan to see if she could access the code in her handbook to use it against the mastermind. Unfortunately, Monokuma stopped her. He told her that any attempt to open up the device would not end favorably, as an alarm would blare throughout the school if she tried. He wouldn't punish her if that happened, he had reassured her of that much, but that wasn't to say that he would be nice about it either.

She didn't want to know what he would do, so she reluctantly refrained from doing anything else with her pad. Yet, right in this moment she was _sorely_ tempted to take the risk.

It was just as she was thinking of this that she was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of the door to the halls opening up and her eyes snapped straight to them. As she looked though, the fear that she'd been suppressing thus far came rushing back, with a vengeance.

There, right in the doorway was the last person she wanted to see right now. The women who held the knowledge that would ruin the programmer. The women who was currently smiling like Christmas had come early and made Chihiro feel like a lump of coal had manifested in her guts. The one who had said her name so sweetly that candy would develop diabetes.

"J-J-Junko…"

* * *

I smiled wide as I looked at the shivering form of the Ultimate Programmer, well aware of the creep factor this would inspire to an outside viewer, if there was one. There wasn't, obviously, but the fact remained.

I couldn't help but smile though since my plan was finally going right. I knew from the moment I intentionally tripped myself and fell on 'her' and rubbed up against her secret that it would jump start her desire to get stronger so that 'she' wouldn't be ashamed of her weakness anymore. It was admittedly a gamble on my part, with how meek she was there had been a chance that she'd just lock herself away in her room and never come out again. It had been a moment of risk vs reward, and fortunately it seemed that the reward was just what I had wanted. Her momentarily forgetting her problem to try and use the weights in the locker room to get stronger.

I was thanking my lucky stars that she did end up coming here, but right now it was time to put on a show.

"Hey there Chi-chi." I said pleasantly, though from the way she flinched back it was anything but reassuring. Oh well. "Perfect timing! I was just looking for you."

She looked horrified, her eyes wide and shaky as she looked about, like a mouse cornered by a hungry cat. "Y-You were l-looking for me?"

I ignored the fear in her eyes and limped closer. "Yeah, now come on, come on. Let's have a little heart to heart in my office." Then I lightly gripped her shoulder with my free hand and started dragging her to the door to the locker room.

The girl's locker room to be precise.

The second that she realized where we were heading, she started trying to pull away. Trying, but not succeeding. It was rather concerning how little I had to grip her without losing her. And with one hand no less.

Either way, I quickly shuffled us up to the door and gave her another look to make sure she didn't leave, and happily stated, "Well, come on then. Let's go in."

"W-Wait!" Chihiro frantically begged as I pulled out Junko's E-handbook that I had swiped from Mukuro's room while I was dressing up, and pressed it up against the electronic reader. All the while, I ignored her worried mutterings of, "I-I can't…I-I mean, you can't…I-"

"Aw come on." I insisted as the tumblers in the lock clicked, signifying the unlocking of the door. "Nothing wrong with a couple of _girls_ going into the girl's locker room, right?"

"T-That's…!" Chihiro's eyes wandered up to the gun on the roof with a look of fear, horrified by the idea that my actions were going to get us both killed. I continued to ignore it however, since the gun was just a glorified prop.

I should probably mention it, but I had actually turned off the gun on the first day. If that wasn't enough, I had also jammed the rotating mechanism and crammed a few corks down the gun barrels to keep it secure just in case. Even with the live ammo still primed and ready, it was basically an oversized joke now. A deterrent in name and appearance only.

Of course, I'm not going to tell _them_ that.

"Relax, Chihiro. See?" I said as I pushed her through the door, headless of her yelp of fear as she flinched, no doubt expecting bullets to lay waste to the both of us now that she had gone in the wrong room. When they didn't, she slowly opened her eyes and glanced back at me and the door. She was still frozen in place though, her eyes confused and worried while her hands balled up shakily in front of her chest.

Still I smiled back with what I hoped was reassurance. "Told ya, now come on…take it off."

Instantly, her face preformed in interesting change. To majority of it went pale, horrified by the implications of my order and what it would mean for her secret, but her cheeks and ears lit up a deep crimson from the embarrassing thoughts the remark must have implanted in her head. The very, very, _very_ perverted thoughts implanted in her mind. "Wh-Wh-Wha…?"

"Yeah, take off your jacket." I continued with a grin as I took off my own cardigan to demonstrate. "You don't want to get that soaked with sweat, do you?"

As I limped my way over to the truck tire in the corner of the room I had used the Monokuma units to drag in, and tossed the top over the handle of the big sledgehammer that was leaning against it, I let my mind wander back to why it was even in here. When Sakura had made the request for it, I had been a bit surprised that she would go and do such a risky thing, asking Monokuma for a tire to exercise with and a sledgehammer to hit said tire with. It should also be mentioned that there was a rope tied to it as well to drag it across the room.

It had been a while since I had seen her free time events, so I was a bit confused as to why she would even need such items, but then I remembered that she was a MMA fighter and it all clicked. Sakura's primary core work out relied on hitting a tire over and over again from various angles to pump up her core. She hadn't mentioned it, but I assume she also used the tire itself as a weight to practice unorthodox lifts and throws to train the muscles that simple weight training can't cover alone. She was all about equal strength after all.

However, getting the tire was harder than you would think. See, I may be willing to risk talking to the Ultimate Despairs for some of my plans and tricks, but I didn't trust them with much else. There was just too much risk in trusting them without them figuring out the truth. They might be loyal, but they weren't so stupid that they would miss strange orders that made no sense in the grand scheme of despair.

So, I had decided to make a little trip using the Monokuma's instead.

In addition to the vents allowing someone to hide in a case of emergency, they also acted as a one-way door out of the building. Unfortunately for anyone here, people can't use that way anymore. The exit was designed to let people out, but I guess when they turned the school into a shelter that they decided to block that way off from normal means. Now, there was a sensor on it that could detect heat signatures and heartbeats. If it got tripped by a living person, then it would go into lockdown, trapping the person between one of several massive plates where they would then be left to starve, or until the proper authorities arrived…whichever happened first.

Please note though, I both said 'living' and 'person'.

Turning my attention back to Chihiro as I immediately tossed aside that train of thought, I answered her question of why she would be sweating. "You're my exercise buddy today. I can't let myself get out of shape just because of this little scratch. I've got a reputation to keep, ya' know?"

My question only further confused her it seemed as she glanced at me completely lost. "Huh? But, wouldn't Sakura or Hina be better to work out with? T-They're already so much stronger than I am."

That was true, they were stronger than most anyone here, yet I shook my head in a sign of disagreement. "Well yeah, I know that. But, that's like the whole problem with asking them. They're both so athletic and junk that they overdo…everything. Seriously, it's insane."

I leaned up against the tire as I crossed my arms over my chest, uncaring if I ended up getting some kind of rubber residue on the back of my white shirt. "As much as I love them, they're just too intense for my body right now while I'm trying to recover. If they got involved, I might just end up having to do a hundred pushups, sit-ups, squats, and a ten-kilo run."

"T-That does sound like them." She reluctantly agreed with me, and I could tell it hurt her a bit to admit it.

"You on the other hand are really reliable. Trustworthy even." I continued on. "I don't know what it is about you, but there's this good feeling I'm getting from you. I can't put it to words really well, but I try to trust that feeling. The other girls? They don't give me that same feel. So, come on."

A large grin crossed my face. Time for some fun. "Let's get cracking!"

* * *

"I-I can't go on, I can't…"

"Come one Chihiro, just a little more! Go for it!"

"P-Please…stop I-I can't…"

"That's quitter talk, come on. *Pant* You're so _close_. Just a bit longer."

"T-Twenty-t-two…T-Twenty-t-three…"

Chihiro huffed again as she forced her arms to extend, pushing herself off of the ground into a shaky plank before lowering again with trembling limbs. Sweat poured down her face as she panted, her face red from the exertion and the heat of her blood pumping through her body. She panted harshly, each breath sharp and hot as it was forced through her teeth, and her lungs burned with exertion as her heart jackhammered against her ribs. Every move was strained and her body felt ready to collapse.

Internally, she wondered to herself how she ended up in this situation, forcing her very clearly weak and out of shape body to preform push-ups over and over in the girl's locker room. How did she end up getting convinced that this was a good idea?

It made no sense to her how it was possible that she could be convinced to exercise this intensely, so how come she was doing so right now? As she thought this, her eyes wandered over to the source of her pain…

"…Forty-one. Forty-two. Come on, Chihiro! You can do it! Just two more! Forty-three…"

…And promptly felt both encouraged and shamed.

Junko, despite her claim of wanting to make this a light workout so as to avoid damaging her leg further, had been doing twice the amount of reps as the programmer's already high amount. To add even more salt to the wound, the fashionista wasn't even using her damaged limb and had both propped herself on her fingers while only using one hand, switching between the two arms with each decent.

And this was after she had done ten single legged squats, and climbing up the flight of stairs to this floor in the first place. It was more than a little demoralizing that this women with access to only one leg was able to do all of this while she was struggling to do twenty-five push-ups. The only thing that kept her pride from being completely destroyed was the fact that Junko's face was just as red hers, and there was a sheen of sweat on her forehead betraying the model's exhaustion as well.

However, that didn't stop the exhausted computer programmer from collapsing the moment she had gotten in that last push-up. As she lay there panting, she couldn't help but marvel at the staggering difference between her and Junko. Despite being a model, and being injured, she was still able to do this much more then Chihiro could. It made the poor girl balk at the thought of what she could do without the limitation.

It also did nothing to inspire confidence in her own abilities. Just ten push-ups were enough to make her ready to collapse, and she had been pushed beyond that. Her heart ached as badly as her limbs did and her lungs burned as they struggled to draw in breath. Her head felt light and fuzzy, and every part of her body was screaming at her for allowing it to go this far. Worst of all, she could feel the tears prickling at the edge of her vision, her frustrations at her own weakness causing her to near break out into tears.

Just as she was about to give in to that desire, to just give in to her tears, she caught the sight of a water bottle in the corner of her eye. Glancing up slightly reveled the holder of the bottle being the sitting form of Junko with her bad leg stretched out behind her. She was gazing down at the smaller girl with a look of concern, but all it did was make her feel worst.

"Hey, you okay?" Junko asked worriedly as she pressed the bottle of lukewarm water to the exhausted girl's cheek. "Here, drink up. You'll feel better."

She didn't want to listen, she wanted to ignore the desire to take the bottle from the sweaty fashion diva and just lay there stewing in her misery. She didn't want to give Junko the satisfaction of seeing her give in. Yet, her body betrayed her wants for its desire for sustenance and the water was just oh so tantalizing right now. So, with quivering arms she forced herself to get up, just enough to sit up straight, and reluctantly took the offered bottle with a small word of thanks.

"Easy now, small sips." Junko warned her as she just about chugged a quarter of the bottle's contents. Chihiro didn't want to listen to her, her body demanding that she glug down the whole thing in one go, damn the consequences.

Which immediately lead to her choking and spilling some of the offered water. Junko quickly and sharply slapped her on the back, knocking the rest of the liquid out of her windpipe and making Chihiro flinch back at the scowl that formed on the model's face. "What did I just say?"

"S-Sorry." Chihiro mumbled going for another sip of her drink, only this time she was well aware that Junko would be mad at her if she tried chugging in again settled for a more sedate pace. Seeing that she was listening to her advice this time, Junko smiled and turned away, laying on her back over the soft rug at the base of the exercising equipment. The room fell silent after that, the only sounds being those coming from soft breathing of the two students, and the crinkling of the plastic bottle in Chihiro's hands whenever she moved it. It was an awkward silence though, one built on suspicion and both of them knew that. There was just too many problems between them right now.

Chihiro wanted to say something, wanted to ask why they had done this moment of grueling exercise together all of a sudden. Why was she being so pushy for her to join up in the locker room for this session? It was something she had wanted, to be brought into the locker room to do some exercise. She knew that this was a desired result from a bad situation, but it didn't make it feel good. It was good that he had been given a chance to train up, but it was so strange that Junko had helped him to do it.

Up until now, she hadn't seemed to be the type who liked to work out that much. Most of the time she'd seen the fashionista, she was lying about complaining about how bored she was, though to be fair, she hadn't seen her all that much to begin with as she tended to avoid the other girls by default. It wasn't out of malice or spite or anything like that, she just wasn't comfortable around the girls.

Yet the one thing she wanted to know the most was, why hadn't she brought up Chihiro's secret?

It made no sense to the meek programmer, Junko clearly knew her secret, she had felt it through her clothes so she had to know about it. So then, why was she hanging out with her still? Was she trying to be polite and giving Chihiro the choice to come forward with it herself, or was she trying to torment the programmer by holding that bit of intel over her head like a sadist. She didn't know, and she was too scared to ask. Every time she tried to open her mouth to speak, her words would freeze up in her throat and choke her, forcing her to take another sip of the stale water to get it to clear. Her fears locked her in place forcing her to stay silent, and it frustrated her so much more than usual.

Why did she have to be so…so weak? Why couldn't she say something, anything? Why couldn't she overcome this for five seconds and ask even one stupid question?

Just as she was on the verge of tears once more, on the cusp of giving in to her weakness and running away crying like a toddler, Junko spoke up.

"Ya know, I can't remember the last time I got a chance to do something like this. Just, kick back and have some fun with a friend. Closest thing I can think of was…what, six...eight years ago?" Her voice was soft, softer than anything she'd heard from the loud, boisterous tones she'd come to expect of the fashion model thus far. It was so different that she was unable to comment before it continued.

"It wasn't anything all that special, I don't think. Just me, my sister and some of her friends. We had all gotten together in our parent's home with some games, soda, and pizza. Ended up staying up till four in the morning, just messing around…heh, it's kind of funny when I think about it."

Chihiro couldn't see what she found so funny about this, but her curiosity had been peaked, "What?"

"Well, never really had much in the way of friends. Most I ever had were acquaintances that were situational to what I was interested in at the time. Never was all that popular in school either. But, I didn't care. I had my sister, and that was enough for me. She was the social butterfly, not me. Makes it even more surprising that I'm the one here, as an "Ultimate" student no less."

There was a depressed look on her face as she continued, or maybe it was melancholy, the programmer wasn't sure, but that didn't stop her from asking. "Um, but didn't you have any friends when you became a model?"

"Heh, is that what you thought." Junko laughed at her own rhetorical remark and turned her head to look at Chihiro. "No, those people were all one of three things. Business rivals who wanted my position, executives who wanted my endorsement, or rabid fans who only cared about how I looked. Nothing more, and occasionally much less. Tabloid mags were even worst, always waiting in the dumbest of places, waiting for me to mess up and do something scandalous. It was like the second puberty hit, I just became a face to plaster on a magazine and not the individual I am."

That…that was something that Chihiro hadn't expected to hear. It was actually quite depressing when she stopped to think about it, a life without friends and always having to be on your toes. She would be the first to admit that she didn't have a large number of friends, but she still had a few close individuals that she hung out with on and off-line. Still thought, "Well, at least you have your sister, right?"

The depressed laugh that came in response was not expected and was very concerning. "Yeah right. I haven't seen her in years, and for all I knew, she was either laying in a ditch, or living a free life. Then this dumb _game_ started up and it turns out, 'Oh hey, guess what? I'm trapped in a hotel with a headwound, possibly in a coma, and you now are responsible for keeping me alive by playing a murder game! Isn't that just _peachy_?' Tch."

The spite in her voice was so intense that Chihiro couldn't help but flinch. "W-Well, what about your parents? They should-"

"What parents?" Junko interrupted with an intense glare, she'd even pulled herself up into a sitting position with her bum leg extended just to emphasize her anger. "The ones who separated my sister and me and forced me to take up modeling in the first place? Hah! As if. You're lucky, ya know. At least your parents are supportive of your life choices. Me, no such luck."

Junko then turned her head away from the small boy and wrapped her arms around her good leg. "Besides, they're not around anymore anyway, so what would it matter?"

"O-Oh." They were both silent at that, and Chihiro lowered her head in thought and shame. It was very clear now that Junko didn't like to talk about her parents and that the programmer had touched a nerve of the fashionista's. She didn't need to hear anymore to understand the context of the last part of her statement. Her parents were gone, possibly dead if the melancholy look on the model's face was any indication, and she had just ripped open those wounds without thinking.

"I-I'm sorry." It was all Chihiro could offer, a small apology for her friend. She hated that this was all she could do for her friend, but that was the only thing she could offer. But, just as her self-loathing was about to come out again, a brief note of realization clicked. "How did you know my parents support me?"

"Why wouldn't I think that?" Junko rebutted with a raised brow. "They had to be when you consider…well, ya know. Your talent. Not that many girls I know are real into programming these days. Mostly because it isn't popular or such nonsense. The fact that you do it anyway despite that is amazing, and the fact that your parents not only support you but encourage you to keep doing it is beyond cool. I'd kill for some parents like that; metaphorically of course."

Chihiro nodded in understanding, aware that Junko wasn't being literal about the last remark. While it did make her feel a bit better to hear such nice things said about her family, it saddened her to hear that about her friend. Junko had no one waiting for her out there, and it was made even more depressing by the fact that the blonde's family weren't even alive for the most part. It made a small tear poke out from the corner of her vision just imagining what it must be like.

However, that wasn't what had concerned her the most. What concerned the little programmer was the fact that Junko was blatantly ignoring the fact that she knew Chihiro's secret, or maybe she just was pretending that she didn't. Why was that? Why pretend not to know? Was it because she was respecting Chihiro's privacy by pretending, or was it some kind of method to make her lower her guard. She hated even thinking of suspecting her friend, but not knowing the truth was clouding her judgments.

She needed to know the truth, to know why Junko was ignoring the problem. Unfortunately, it was clear that the only way she was going to learn it was to force the issue.

"You don't have to pretend, Junko." Chihiro murmured sadly, her head lowered so that she couldn't see the look of disgust on the girl's face. As such, she missed the sad look on her friend's face when Junko said, "I don't know what you're talking about, I really am jealous of you for having such a wonderful family."

Chihiro shook her head, knowing that they both knew that Junko was trying to change the topic. Ignoring the knot twisting in her gut, the meek girl corrected, "No, n-not that. I mean, you don't have to pretend that you don't know my secret."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Junko denied, but neither of them were buying it for a second. "I never heard anything about any secret, least of all one of yours. I haven't the slightest idea of what It could be-"

"Junko." Chihiro interrupted, her voice shaky as she struggled to say it, to say the truth that she tried to deny every day. Tears trickled down her red cheeks as she struggled to say it, but all the exertion in her body meant nothing. All she was able to say, to choke out was a single, "P-Please…"

Junko was silent for a moment, no doubt thinking about how best to answer. Eventually, she sighed heavily and said with a soft tone, "So much for giving you an out. Fine. The truth is, I've…actually known you were a guy for longer than you think."

Chihiro's head snapped up at that and her eyes shot wide open as she, or rather he, stared in shock at the model. "Wha-"

"It's actually pretty obvious if you know what to look for." Junko continued, yet she couldn't look the smaller person in the eyes, choosing instead to focus on her hands folded over her lap. "See, there's a few key features that most boys and girls have that are very different from one another. For starters, guy fingers tend to be more rounded while girls tend to be slenderer, plus there's a person's ring figure to consider. Depending on a person's natural testosterone level, the ring finger will be larger or shorter the more or less that level is. Your hands, despite being far from callused and being rather dainty, are still more masculine then what I would expect from a girl's."

That wasn't something that Chihiro had even considered, and almost unconsciously he found himself looking down at his hands in bewilderment. The though had never occurred to him that his own hands would be a contributor to someone finding out 'her' secret. The very idea seemed ludicrous, impossible even. The programmer had never noticed there was any kind of difference to be seen. Yet, now that Junko brought it up, the differences were rather noticeable now that he knew what to look for. The things he never considered before suddenly became obvious, so much so that he started to wonder how he'd never noticed them before.

As he was pondering, Junko continued to speak, raising her head up with closed eyes as if reading a script written inside her eyelids. "Of course, that alone wouldn't be enough to prove that you were a guy. After all, Sakura is living proof that even girl hands can become big and burly given enough training. I'm just saying that as a starting point, once I had noticed that other things started to become more obvious."

Chihiro found himself nodding along at that, slightly relieved that his hands hadn't been the only major factor behind the truth getting out. It would have made him feel horribly self-conscious if that had been the only thing that needed to expose 'her' as a him.

"The next thing is your walk. Girls have wider hips then guys, for obvious reasons, but that gives us a natural sway to our walk. As our legs move, our hips center of gravity shifts with it to keep us balanced. It's also how we attract mates on an instinctual level. If you had been swinging your hips, I wouldn't have said anything, but your walk doesn't have that. Now, you might have been able to hide that with your poofy skirt from the others, but I've had to learn to notice that in my line of work. To me, you had to either be unfortunate enough of a girl to be born with very small hips, or you were a guy."

Again, Chihiro found himself slowly nodding along with Junko's assessment as his hands moved his lap subconsciously. It was true that he had noticed that about girl's hips in the past, an unintentional observation that had embarrassingly resulted from his hormones taking the wheel when he wasn't paying attention, but he had been more focused on the embarrassment of the act of looking then the action itself. There was too much shame to even think of the why he had been looking in the first place.

"Then there's your shoulders and chest." Junko continued, raising another finger to count the point. "Again, Sakura proves that it can be done otherwise with intensive muscle training, becoming a nonfactor in those cases, but like how girls have wider hips, guys have broader shoulders. With how thin you are though, it's no wonder how everyone missed it. Plus, as your now see-through shirt proves, you don't where a bra. As a high-school teen, if you were a girl, then this would be around the time that you start budding and you should at least be wearing a training bra by now. Some girls could get away with that if they were flat enough, but you aren't a girl, so...Also, even if that wasn't the case, there's a subtle difference between a flat chested girl, and a boy."

Chihiro gazed down at his chest in thought, knowing that she had a point there. It was true that he had very little fat content on his body, but that was more from proper eating and lack of major exercise combined with genetics. He had always been rather thin and small for his age, but his father had always been rather thin too, so he had just never really thought about it. Plus, now that he had a chance to look down, he realized that, to his horror, his white dress shirt had absorbed the perspiration from their exercising and the water he'd coughed up had become mostly translucent, easily showing the bare skin beneath.

"However, again, because you were wearing that jacket with the stuffed shoulders it's easy to miss that bit, and with how loose it is around the chest, I might never have noticed if I wasn't looking for it. Hell, you constantly put your hands in front of your chest anyway, so that made it even harder to notice." Junko continued, and that bit of information was something that Chihiro internally sighed to in relief. It would have been morally horrifying to learn that his own body had given him away after spending so long hiding it from the world.

"The next thing to consider is your voice, I totally missed it the first time we spoke, but there's a difference in tone between most guys and girls that makes it clear that you couldn't be a girl. Even Sakura's more deep and gritty voice carries a feminine tone if you care to listen for it. It's subtle, so if you didn't know to listen for it, you would miss it entirely, but your voice has just a tad more masculine tone to it than a girl's." Junko then opened her eyes and finally looked at the meek programmer with an air of seriousness. "Now tone can be faked, voice actors do it all the time, but yours sounds far too genuine."

That was something Chihiro agreed with as well. He had seen such examples of female characters voiced by a male and vice versa. It wasn't hard to imagine someone doing that in real life. Still though, he found it amazing that Junko had been able to pick up on that.

"You've also got the obvious Adams apple." She pointed to the spot on her own neck where she would have had one, had she been a male herself. "I'll admit, your bit is rather small, and that collar of yours is _very_ good at hiding it, but I'm used to spotting that kind of thing from a mile away."

Chihiro couldn't help but reach up and poke the small bulb on his throat in consideration to what she had said. That one he had been aware of himself, he didn't need to be told about that. There was a reason that he tended to duck his head down quite a bit, even beyond his nonconfrontational outlook. By ducking his head, he was able to hide that little noticeable lump that announced his identity as a boy.

Well, the more obvious one.

"Finally, and most important…" Junko raised her finger in the air to emphasize the point. She took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, then she paused for what could only be dramatic effect and announced, "…you told me before we started exercising."

"…eh?"

"Oh yeah, if you hadn't been so vocal about not going into the girl's locker room, I might never have pieced it all together." She explained casually to his utter shock, before lazily pointing her hand in his direction. "See, everything I mentioned just now? Yeah, _totally_ easy to miss. Never would have occurred to me that you were hiding something otherwise if you had just gone in with me in the beginning."

Chihiro's jaw dropped at that horrible lie. It had to be a lie. "B-But what about this morning when you…Um, when you brushed u-up against…against my…my…"

"Dick?" Junko bluntly stated to Chihiro's immense embarrassment, but he nodded with his face aflame anyway. "Honestly, I didn't even realize what it was at the time. I was too focused on the pain and you to even think to make note of anything like that."

That…was simultaneously relieving…and upsetting. He had been panicking for so long, spent so much time lost in his own fears of what had happened that he failed to even consider that Junko never even realized what she'd brushed up against. It was mortifying to know that it had all been over nothing. Worst still, he probably made things poorer for himself in the aftermath. Completely blowing off the other's concern to hide in his room might have been the worst thing he could have done to keep his secret hidden, as now they would be bugging him to find out what was wrong out of good intention.

Or possibly less then noble intentions.

Even so, that didn't answer one thing for the crossdressing boy. "B-But why did you bring me in here then?"

"What? I can't invite a friend to hang out and do some exercise together?" Junko's eyes told him that she was upset but the telling smile gave away her mirth. "I told you that I need to stay in shape, otherwise I'll lose all of my hard-earned flaunting muscles. I mean seriously, do you think I got these killer curves sitting on my ass all day?"

She smacked her thigh with her left hand as she said this, drawing Chihiro's eyes to the supple flesh in turn. He had to admit, as much as it made his cheeks heat up as he did, for as thin as her legs were there was a noticeable amount of tone from years of training. Strong cords of muscle lay under thin layers of skin as a testament of the time and effort put in to making them as solid as possible without becoming obscene. He couldn't help but feel envious of her strength.

However, he couldn't feel bitter about it. She had clearly worked hard to earn those muscles of hers. It would be shameful of him to hate her for that when he had never done anything to improve himself. All he had ever done was hide, flee from the truth. He hid himself from the facts of who he was, just to escape from his bullies that had tormented him over his weakness, to the point where he sometimes nearly forgot what was true. That he was just a weak boy, who hid that he was a boy by becoming a girl. A weakling, who chose to embrace that weakness and hid from it like a coward, rather than try and confront it and be strong.

"Hey, you okay?" Junko asked, her voice full of concern as she looked at him. Or at least he thought she was looking at him. He couldn't really tell because at some point he had started crying again, to his chagrin. That was just what he needed, further proof that he was just a weak little cry-baby like the bullies in his early middle school had always called him. He was just a weakling, a coward that everyone picked on because he was too weak to stand up for himself. He was a freak, a disgusting pervert that hide his insecurities behind a dress. A mouse that could only beg the cat for its life.

"P-Please…" He begged, placing his hands before himself and bowing all the way to the floor. "Please don't tell anyone. I-I can't…I can't deal with that again. I don't want to be called a-a freak, a loser. I don't…I _couldn't_ live with that again. So…Please… _Please._ "

He ignored her muttered "Huh?" of confusion, his body racking with sobs as he tried to keep his position. The hard floor dug into his knees and the fat tears that poured down his cheeks stung at the very eyes they streamed from but Chihiro didn't care about any of that. Even though this was completely shameful and embarrassing, it was necessary to him. To avoid that horrible fate, he would throw away all of what little pride he had to plead for the fashionista's silence.

"…" Junko didn't respond with any words, and perhaps that was the worst thing to Chihiro. He could have handled insults, he could have handled ridicule, he could have even handled it if Junko decided to slap, punch or…okay, maybe being kicked was off the list. But the silence was worse than anything else. It was like Junko was saying that she was so disgusted that she couldn't quantify it in words, that Chihiro wasn't worth wasting her breath to say anything.

Then, he heard Junko move. He heard the fashion model grab her crutch from where it lay on the ground and used it to stand. Then his heart dropped when he heard the strawberry-blond start to limp away. That stung more than anything else. Not only was he not worth the words, Junko clearly didn't think he was even worth wasting any more time with and was leaving to preserve her dignity. Perhaps she was going to tell the others about Chihiro's secret, then they would do the same. Leave him alone, for being a freak, a weakling not worth talking to.

The tears didn't stop, each drop of salty liquid splattered against the ground uncaring for their fate. It didn't matter though, not anymore. Once Junko left the room, it would be all over. His secret would be exposed, the others would know of 'her' shame, and then the pain would begin again. He would be ridiculed and reviled, his life would be over.

*Scrreeech* a sudden sound of something being dragged interrupted his self-loathing, but he didn't raise his head. What would be the point? When the sound came again, closer this time, he briefly raised his head, but just as quickly let it fall. It didn't matter. His life here was over, so if someone was dragging something closer to end it, then he wasn't going to stop them. When it came a third time, and stopped just before him, he tensed out of instinct only.

This was it, the moment that he left this world. The last thing he would see was this floor in a locker, in a school run by a mad bear. The only regret he had would be that he wasn't able to see his family one last time, but it wasn't to be. For this was the moment where she-

*Thunk!* "Ow!" His thoughts were again interrupted when a wooden stick bopped him on the back of his head. It hadn't been a hard hit, maybe just enough to leave a bump, but that didn't stop his forehead from smacking into the floor from the impact.

Snapping his head back up from the sudden pain he winced as he held his head with both hands. His eyes squinting from the ache, he rubbed his abused scalp with grit teeth. A hiss escaped his lips when he brushed up against a small sore lump. As he thought, the brief assault had left a small swollen spot on his head. It didn't feel like it was bleeding, there wasn't any feeling of moisture besides the drying sweat that still clung to the locks of hair, but he knew it would be best to have someone double check before he left.

After a few moments to wait for the pain to die down, he suddenly realized that someone was softly rubbing his back in a comforting fashion. With the pain fading, he took a moment to force open one of his eyes to look around. The sight that he met was one that caught him by surprise.

Sitting next to him with her bad leg slightly extended behind her to lessen the pressure on it, Junko had extended her arm to rub slow, small circles into his back and was muttering apologies as she did. It was confusing that she was doing so, Chihiro thought that she would want nothing to do with him after hearing him beg, yet here she was trying to comfort him in his moment of pain. It was actually rather touching to him…and rather suspicious since she was the only one here that could have bopped him in the head.

A glance down showed something that he realized had to be the item that hit him. A sledgehammer, the one that had been up against the truck tire in the corner of the room, now lay in front of him. The end of the handle lay before him, hopefully and thankfully intentionally as the twenty-pound weight on the other end would no doubt have killed the small crossdresser. The thought was horrifying to the meek boy.

Then, to his greater horror, Junko reached down and gripped the hammer in her dainty hands and pulled it closer to them both. Pressing the handle into his hand, she moved away from him. Turning his head to look at her again, Chihiro was surprised to see the model lay down on her back and close her eyes, but that was rendered as a foot note compared to her next words.

"Go ahead." The words had been spoken so resolutely that it stole the breath from Chihiro's lungs. He wasn't able to understand where she was going with this, couldn't comprehend it, yet it still terrified him to his core. When he didn't respond she apparently took that as a sign to explain to him what she meant. It turns out, it was just as horrible as he thought it would be.

"You obviously don't trust me. I don't blame you, not with this killing game and all, so I think it would be best that you insure that it never gets out then." Chihiro was completely thrown off by the matter of fact way she said that, like she fully expected it to be the option he would take, whatever that option was. He didn't want to assume, even though it seemed she was heavily implying what he only hoped he was wrong about.

Still, he had to ask. "W-What do you mean by that?"

"What do you think I mean?" she quipped back at him. Her eyes opened to look at him, but he couldn't see any emotion behind them. Instead, they seemed to be searching for something, something important clearly, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what that something would be. For some reason, that worried him more than anything said up to this point and that only made his mouth feel oh so dry.

Yet, he still managed to reply. "W-Well, it sounds like your t-telling me to…to…t-to…"

He couldn't finish, the thought of what she was asking him was too terrible for him to consider. The consequences of what were to happen if he went through with what she offered made his breath freeze in his lungs, choking the life out of the sentence he was failing to utter. The idea was just beyond anything he'd been asked of before, and it disturbed the programmer that it was her to ask it so much that he dare not finish.

"…Kill me?" Junko finished in his place, causing him the choke on his breath as she confirmed the very thing he feared she would say. "Yeah, that's what I'm saying."

Kill her. To enact the act of murder. To take another's life and snuff it out. The idea was unthinkably horrific too the crossdressing programmer, the very act beyond his sensibilities. He couldn't wrap his mind around what she was telling him to do. He heard what she had said alright, that he would be able to preserve his secret this way, but even when a small, darker part of his mind said to go through with her plan, to take the hammer and slam the heavy end into her skull, it was violently snubbed out by the programmer's morals and ethics as they reminded him that the act itself was far beyond anything he should ever consider. He could never even dream of it; the act was just too abhorred to even think of.

Yet, think of it he did. He slammed his eyes shut, as if to forcibly smother the darker part of his mind and their toxic whispers of sweet nothings. It did very little though, he could feel these new thoughts invaded his mind. This dreaded situation had made these kinds of contemplations a rare and few, but when they did come up it was always at the worst of times.

"W-Why?" He asked completely and understandably dumbfounded by her request. "Why would you want me t-to…to kill you?"

It made absolutely zero sense to the pacifistic programmer, not at all. Why would she think it was alright to request such a thing? Didn't she realize that she would be gone forever if he went through with this, that her life would quite literally be over? Why would she ask him to take her life when she had so much of her life yet to live?

As he was desperately trying to think of the logic behind her thought process, Junko looked him straight in the eyes from her relaxed position on the floor and said in the sincerest and almost motherly tone he'd ever heard from her, "…Because, I would rather die than tell anyone your secret."

"…Huh?"

Junko turned her head away from him to stare up at the ceiling as she continued to explain. "Well it's not really my secret to tell, ya know. You clearly aren't comfortable with the idea, and if I spilled the beans, then you would be miserable. You've clearly done nothing to dissuade anyone from calling you a girl, so why should I shake up that can of rattlesnakes? And I would feel nothing but guilt if you had to suffer because I couldn't keep my big gab shut. So, I'm not going to tell anyone."

Chihiro was stunned by her speech, "…But, then why tell me to kill you then?"

"Well, it's not like I _want_ to die." She stated bluntly with a roll of her eyes which settled back on his as she continued. "I just wanted you to know how serious I am about keeping this secret. Until you're ready to tell them yourself, I'll wait and support you the best that I can."

"J-Junko…" Chihiro breathed, touched by the concern that flooded her gaze as she looked into his eyes. Eyes that teared up from the amount of care that Junko held that she would say such things. That she would be willing to risk him giving into Monokuma's temptations just to prove how much she cared for him and his circumstances…admittedly, it was also a bit concerning that this was the first method she chose to inform him of this.

He wouldn't call himself the most experienced when it came to social interactions, but even he couldn't help but think that there were better ways of saying it.

"Besides," Junko continued as she sat up, completely unaware of the large bead of sweat growing on the back of Chihiro's head from his own concerned thoughts. "I don't see what's wrong with what you're doing. You just want to wear what you're comfortable with, nothing wrong with that. And come on, you look absolutely adorable in that outfit!"

"I-If you say so." He said with a ruby blush on his face. He wasn't quite used to being complimented for his looks, he'd chosen this uniform for the sole reason that it was plain and unassuming after all, but he couldn't deny that someone of Junko's prestige as a fashion model and icon complimenting him on his appearance was something a bit beyond what he was used to.

"Hey, don't look so glum, chum." Junko said with a teasing grin, "Think about it this way, do you think you would look as good dressed like…oh say, Mondo?"

Briefly, the thought crossed the small boy's mind and formed the silliest mental image. Him in the oversized coat of Mondo's biker outfit, complete with outrageous pompadour, wife-beater shirt, and baggy pants several sizes too big hanging up solely by his hands as he tried his best to hold them up over his underwear despite the sleeves of the Crazy Diamonds coat hanging over his hands. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, a stray question popped into his head wondering what the furious biker would look like wearing the programmer's uniform. The image of the buff teen stretching the delicate fabric with the ruffles of the skirt flowing around his waist standing next to his own undersized form in the bikers much larger ensemble was so silly that he couldn't stop the small chuckles from escaping his lips nor the small tears peaking at the edges of his eyes from mirth.

"No, I-I guess not." He managed to get out in between fits of chuckles from the embarrassing image that he swore on his grave that the biker would never hear of.

"Well, there's that smile." Junko laughed along with him, though whether she had imagined the same thing as he did wasn't important. The simple fact that he was able to laugh about anything right now was more important to him. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, a pressure lowered more and more with every guffaw. Then Junko asked him to imagen himself in one of the other guy's outfits which spurred on another wave of laughter. After a solid five minutes of just laughing at the mental image of them and their classmates in increasingly ridicules outfits, the two teens finally started to settle down.

With panting breaths, Junko gave one more chuckle and breathlessly asked, "Better?"

Chihiro was only able to nod with a happy grin on his face, even more breathless then she was. He had to admit, he really needed that laugh. After so much stress and doubt from the past several hours, it felt so good to just let loose for a little while. Happy that he felt better, Junko smiled back in turn.

"Besides, now that I know about it, I can help you out…well, _try_ to anyway. If you want it." Her smile became a bit more forced and nervous. "I wasn't lying when I said I thought you were trustworthy and reliable, and I hope that you think the same of me…Right, Chihiro? Buddy?"

For a brief moment, Chihiro felt like his heart had stopped. The emotional roller-coaster that he'd had to endure today was catching up with him and he found himself tearing up for what felt like the hundredth time at the kind, if a bit awkward, offer to help. "…U-Uh."

"W-Whoa now, why are you crying?" Junko said in a mild panic that her words had upset him in some way. "I-If you don't want it, that's fine. Just don't-"

"N-No that's not it." He interrupted with a shake of his head as he tried to wipe away the tears flowing down his cheeks even when they were immediately replaced by fresh ones. "I-I'm just so happy right now! W-When you told me you found out I-I was just so worried that my life would be over, and…and when you said you found out what I was, I was so…so scared. But, you still want to be my friend, and you want to help me. I-I know I'm just a crybaby, it's embarrassing, but I don't care. I'm just too happy to care. Thank you."

He was on an emotional high, and he knew it, but he just didn't care right now. After being afraid of being found out after hiding for so long for fear of persecution, he had all but given up on the idea of telling anyone the truth. The fear that gripped his heart went far and above his hopes of finding someone he could relate to and prevented him from fully trusting anyone. That dreaded part of him that he hid at all times hung over his head whenever he ever tried to get close and forced him to pull away lest it be exposed.

This time though, this time he had been exposed before he could even form a close bond that he felt would be inseparable. Yet unlike those instances, when the ones he felt closest shunned him for what his secret was, this wonderful girl had chosen to look past his weakness to see him for the kind boy underneath. His cheeks felt warm as he smiled at the fashion diva through his tears, for this was truly the happiest he had felt here in this prison of an academy.

"Y-Your welcome." Junko stuttered as she looked at his face, her own cheeks warming up as she looked away. Was she embarrassed? "J-Just don't get used to it, alright? Like with Sayaka, I don't want you to go getting the wrong idea that I'm some kind of lovey-dovey type girl. I've got a reputation to uphold, ya know."

Chihiro couldn't stop the endearing smile from spreading across his face if he tried. It was nice to know that, even after all that she'd been through, and after he had the rug metaphorically pulled out from under his feet, he could take comfort in the fact that she was still the same Junko. "Of course."

"Right." She replied, though if she was convinced he was being honest was debatable as she grabbed her crutch and forced herself to stand up. Chihiro made to assist, but she waved him off, determined to do it herself. "Okay, now. Just want to correct a couple of things though real quick, okay?"

"Sure, what is it?" he asked in turn as he stood as well, brushing the dust off of his skirt as he did.

"You are not a _crybaby_." Junko stated resolutely, something he didn't quite agree with himself, but before he could deny it, she jabbed her pointer finger at the area just between his eyes with her ruby fake nail and continued, "And don't you start arguing with me about it! I've met real crybabies, I've had to _deal_ with real crybabies, and I know very well what a crybaby is from experience. If you want to call yourself something, then call yourself a 'pacifist' or a 'dove'. It's far less insulting for yourself, and it's much more accurate. Alright?"

He didn't really think those words were more accurate personally, but he wasn't about to say anything to upset her. "O-Okay. Thank you, Junko."

"Good, and one last thing. You are not a weakling." Once more, he made to argue with her, but that pointy finger interrupted him. "Up-bup-bup! No, don't argue with me on this. You're stronger then you let yourself believe."

"N-No, I'm really not." He argued back anyway, completely disbelieving that idea. He knew very well that he was weak, he didn't have any reason to believe otherwise. Hell, even among the weakest people in this class alone, he would have them beaten out as the weakest, frailest, scrawniest, and feeblest of them all. Even Toko, the only one skinnier then him, had more muscle then he did. Not by much, admittedly, but it was still more then him.

Junko, however, clearly didn't agree with that if her shaking head was any indication. "Bull. You want to know how I know you're strong? It's because you didn't cave in my skull when I gave you the choice. Anyone weaker would have done me in to keep their secret, they would have given in to the temptation just out of fear of the idea that I would expose them. You, on the other hand, choose to keep asking questions without even trying to commit such an atrocity. You didn't even try to go for it; don't think I didn't see you push the hammer away from you. You would choose to help people even when it would be detrimental to yourself. You would even let something as commonly called a pest like a mosquito drink from you just because you didn't want to take it from its family."

He couldn't deny that much from her, especially since the bump from when the little insect bit him suddenly twitched at its mention. Not wanting to be rude and interrupt his friend, he silently reached over with his free hand and lightly pressed the nail into the red mark as Makoto had taught him a few days ago when it first bit him. He didn't know why, but the insect seemed to have taken a liking to him and had returned last night as well and gave him another love bite not that far from where the first bite had been. It didn't take away the itch entirely, but it helped keep it at a more manageable level. Though it was a bit strange that she knew he'd been bit by a mosquito specifically.

Thinking about it, she might have just noticed the bump on his hand and assumed it was a mosquito. It wasn't as if he'd gone out of his way to hid it after all, and it was rather large either way. Maybe she saw the tiny insect at some point as well and just connected the dots. That would make sense, right?

Unaware of what he was thinking about, Junko continued her rant uninterrupted. "No one does that, I mean, I've met pacifists, priests, nuns, hell even the most passive of popes that would swat the pest. In my opinion, it takes a truly strong person to choose not to be violent when presented the opportunity, more so then then a muscle head who only responds with violence at every opportunity. You may not have much in the strength of body, but you're strong where it counts, up here…and here."

She used her free hand to give him a light tap on his forehead and another on his chest, right about where his heart would be and kept it there for a few extra seconds then what he felt was strictly necessary, and it caused his cheeks to heat up once more. He looked away, unable to look into those eyes of hers that radiated so much more passion and vigor then he'd ever felt aimed his way before. She was so strong, able to say such things without even the slightest hint of doubt, and it made him feel embarrassed for not being able to respond in turn.

Even with a hole in her leg, she wasn't willing to back down and hide. She just kept pushing forward, unwilling to become a burden. If he was being honest with himself, he found that to be her most admirable trait. She wasn't just pretty, beautiful even, but she was also someone that didn't let that govern who she was. She was strong, maybe not Sakura or Aoi strong, but more so than he ever would have expected at first. She was unafraid to say what was on her mind, and unflinching with her convictions. When she said those kind words just now, he had momentarily forgotten that he was weak.

In that moment, he felt a small heat building in his chest. "You are strong." The words he'd always wanted to hear throughout his early life, just a little bit of confirmation to confront the waves of "You're so weak, even though you're a boy." That little bit was something that he'd wanted to hear for oh so long. He had never quite realized just how important that was to him, to hear someone say something so kind, so thoughtful, so…

False.

However, it didn't matter if they were false. It didn't matter that they were sugar coated lies to his ears. These few words were something that he wanted so desperately to hear. It was just something that he never had been told for as long as he lived. Not even his parents had said those words he was so despite to hear, and they were the ones who'd known him his whole life. To be fair to them, it wasn't as if they hadn't tried. They tried to understand, his father had even come the closest to understanding having a similar problem growing up himself, but they never could quite realize just how bad it was for him. They supported his decisions and let him dress as he would, never quite realizing that what he had wanted wasn't support for his weakness, but to be told that he was strong without it. That was all he wanted.

"If that's not enough for you, then I'll help you fix that." His depressing thoughts were interrupted once again by Junko, but this time he couldn't stop his eyes from snapping to her own beaming grin.

"Huh?" He asked as the gears in his head momentarily ground to a halt as he ran her words back in his mind. Once he realized what she was saying though, he quickly raised his hands and started shaking them in an attempt to deny her kind offer. "No, no, I wouldn't want to be a bother-"

"Nonsense!" She cut him off with a wide grin and flashing of a peace sign. "If it's you, I don't mind. Plus, it totally helps me out too. So, if you feel like it, we can make this a thing."

"I-I don't know." He replied uncertainly as his gaze migrated to the ground. As tempting as the offer was, he couldn't help but feel that this was a bad idea. If they did make this an everyday thing, then there would be so much risk of one of the others finding out and confronting them. If that wasn't bad enough, then it would only get worse if Sakura or Hina found out that he'd passed up their multiple offers to work out together in favor of Junko's secret training. If nothing else, Hina would definitely be crushed, and that wasn't something he ever wanted.

"Okay, I got an idea. How 'bout we do this at night then, just after the nighttime announcement. That way, you won't have to worry about the others seeing you, and we can both get better. Then, when you feel ready, I'll help you tell them. And I won't let anyone get snippy about it, k?"

Chihiro perked up a bit at that offer. That would certainly make things a bit easier on him. If they did it at ten when everyone else was about to go to sleep, then that would prevent most everyone from finding out about their rendezvous and give them plenty of time to do whatever they both felt was needed then go straight to bed without the rush. Yet, that still left one problem.

"Wouldn't that break our rule about not going out at nighttime?" He questioned as he pressed his pointer finger into his tilted head and puffed up his cheeks in worry. He liked her idea, he really did, but he wasn't quite sure he wanted to defy the rule they had made to do it.

Fortunately, Junko had an answer for that. With a dismissing wave of her hand, she stated, "Do worry about it. if anyone says anything, we'll just say that I strong armed you. It's kind of true anyway."

"You would do that for me?" He asked with a trace of hope that was instantly quashed by a tinge of guilt. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"Sure!" She cut him off in what Chihiro was starting to feel would be a common occurrence as long as he continued interacting with her. She tossed him his jacket with a grin before slipping into her cardigan. "That's what friends are for, aren't they? I may not be good for much right now, but if you need someone to lend some support and help you bare the weight, I can be there for you. If you ever need help, or just need an ear to hear you, don't be afraid to come to me. Okay?"

He smiled at that, and gave the grinning fashionista a small nod as he held the green garment and spoke a simple, "Thank you." It was the only thing he could do. He didn't know if he could see through with her offer, but as she smiled in turn and started limping to the door, he could feel the willingness to try welling inside.

However, just as she was about out the door, he could have sworn he heard her mutter something. "…Besides, even if you had gone through with it and offed me, you wouldn't have gotten away unscathed."

"Huh? Wouldn't have…?" Yes, he understood what she was saying, but he also understood somethings that she wasn't saying as well. If he had killed Junko, as much as the thought made his stomach churn and his heart leap into his throat, then his secret would be safe for the moment. The others would never be able to put together the fact that her death had been at Chihiro's weak little hands when the murder weapon was the big, heavy sledgehammer. Add in his already established fear of the changing room, then he would be even less likely to be pinned as the culprit.

But the biggest factor was his true gender. As a boy, he shouldn't normally have access to the girl's side of the locker rooms, the electronic reader would guaranty that fact. If it came down to it, and the others were somehow able to figure out he was the culprit, then all he would need to do was…

His eyes shot wide open in realization at what Junko's plan would do had he made the error in judgement to cave in her skull. If it came down to it during the trial that he would need to reveal his true gender, then he would be eliminated as a suspect entirely. He would be unable to be the one who killed Junko and have a chance to escape as the blackened. But to do that, he would have his secret exposed by either his own merit, or through the other's investigations. They would learn the fact before he either got executed by Monokuma for failing to hide his actions properly, or worst, when the other students were all about to be punished for his success. Neither option were all that desirable.

It was also in that moment that he realized something. If that had been her plan from the beginning, then he had a lot to worry about. For now, she was a crafty ally and friend, but if he crossed her, or if he made her mad, then he knew he would have hell to pay. The thought caused a small shiver to run down his spine.

"So, not to make you feel bad or anything, just want to get the facts straight is all, but do you actually consider yourself a girl when you wear that, or do you just like the feeling of girl's clothes, or…"

' _But for now,_ ' he thought to himself with a small smile as he tried to dissuade the growing list of misconceptions his new friend was spouting in an effort to understand him better. ' _I guess this is fine. I finally have a friend, a real friend, who won't laugh at me for being weak._ '

And sometimes, he realized, that was enough.

* * *

 **Hey there everyone, it's good to see you all again. Quite an interesting change of event here, huh? To see her go and help our little programmer with his little problem of his, to offer to be his rock until he can support himself. It's so nice of her. Yet, I wonder. Can she keep this up? We've yet to reach the darkest moment of this tale of a boy's life of despair after all.**

 **And what about the motive? Will she shoot her plans in the foot with the next motive, or will her plans go oh so well? Who's to say.**


	21. The children of Despair

"Hmm. Interesting. I wonder."

I pondered to myself as I looked through a few attention-grabbing entries of the journal of one Yasuke Matsuda once again, though this time it had been more out of boredom then desire then the times before. After I had finished my little meet-and-greet with Chihiro, I had decided to head back to the control room. It took a bit to escape from the little programmer, mostly because he insisted in helping me get down the stairs, but I managed to convince him to leave me at Mukuro's room to take a nap. He left me with a smile, promising to meet with me tonight, and I was finally alone.

Once he was gone, and I double checked to make sure no one was gonna come in after me, I quickly opened then shut the door, careful not to make a sound. Mukuro had apparently ended up falling asleep at some point while I was out, which was fine by me since I really didn't think I was quite ready to speak with her just yet. I still needed to gather my thoughts and make sure that nothing had gone wrong in my absence after all. So, after taking a second to pull the sheets up over her, I opened the hidden hatch and made my way back to the controls.

It didn't take all that long to get up there, about five minutes or so since I memorized the path I needed to take, and once I was in I quickly checked the cameras. Once I was certain that there wasn't anyone or anything that needed my immediate attention, I decided to pick up the book once more and see if I could learn anything new.

It definitely wasn't an excuse to try and forget how much more adorable Chihiro's smile was in person then on a screen.

'Damnit brain, cut it out!' I mentally chastised myself for getting distracted again. 'We've got more important things to worry about.'

I hated that I was so easily distracted, but I couldn't help myself. When your only company is a computer screen that can't even connect to the internet for anything other than communicating with people that you really don't want to talk to unless absolutely necessary, it can be rather easy to let your mind wander. That was one of the reasons that I was so willing to risk everything to join the others in Mukuro's place while she recovered. Self-imposed isolation can be surprisingly taxing on the mind.

Thinking about it, maybe that's part of the reason why Junko seemed so much more unhinged in the first game then the other instances in the series. She was locked up alone for around eighteen or so days if I'm remembering it right, only able to interact through Monokuma as an antagonistic sadist. That had to do some kind of damage to her psych.

Regardless, I felt glad that there was one little feature that made this whole endeavor possible. I would never be able to do this whole switch-a-roo without the ability to have the camera auto switch between one or more person.

One problem with my current position was the fact that I wasn't just being an antagonist, I was also hosting a show live for the world to see. That was part of the reason for all of the cameras throughout the school and why I had thought I needed to stay in the control room the whole time. If I didn't keep the camera that was currently live focused on the important events, then I risked losing my control over the crazed lunatics out there watching.

Think about it, if the cameras were only left on one room, then the show would be rather boring indeed. There would be no action, no suspense, no moments of drama to agonize over. If you were lucky, the best you would get would be a few snippets of info every other hour. No one would want to watch a show that you couldn't see what was happening.

Most of all, it wouldn't match what Junko set out to do. The game of mutual killing was something that was supposed to emphasize that hope will always give in to despair, peace will lose to chaos, etcetera. You can't do that when no one can see the times in between each tragedy. That would just cause the whole thing to drag on too much.

Plus, Junko maybe all kinds of crazy, but she was smart; too smart. She was a masterful manipulator of the highest caliber. If she had ever gone into politics, I don't doubt she might have eventually become the prime minister or some equally high position of power. Her only real weakness is her unhealthy obsession with not being bored and her fetish for despair.

She would never let the game become too boring if she had any say in the matter, which she clearly did. However, she was still human and would need moments that she would need to leave the confines of the control and monitor rooms. So, it's no stretch of the imagination that she would have some way to keep the show going even when she wasn't there.

In this case, it was a simple command that could be put into the computer systems to temporarily let the camera's do the work for her. It was a program simply titled, "Track".

It was simple. After activating the program, a simple command prompt would show up where you input one of the listed orders for the computer to operate on for the transmission to the outside world. These included, "Manual", the default setting that it would always revert to whenever it was left idle for long enough. "Shuffle", which made them switch randomly. There were also a few other settings as well, but the one I cared about the most was one called, "Track".

In the simplest of terms, it made it so that the camera would always be on which ever student I wanted to focus on. To do this, it kind of piggy-backed off of the signal of a person's E-handbook to find them and whatever camera was closest to them at the time. This in turn meant that I could decide whoever would be the star of the show for a while without needing to actively use the security cameras manually; for a short while at least.

The down side was that the track function required a person to have their handbook on them at any time. If anyone accidentally left their electronic pocketbook behind or worst, broke the damn thing in some manner, then I couldn't keep track of them. It was probably something that Kyoko found out and used to hide from Junko near the end of the killing game. This meant they couldn't be trusted to monitor the group of ultimate teens for too long.

But, as long as I was careful, then I could use it every once in a while, in my attempts to prevent Mukuro's revel. Two or three times a day if I'm careful. Maybe more if I absolutely need to.

"Dang it, I'm getting distracted again." I spoke aloud as I put down the journal, but I couldn't help it. It was so difficult to focus my mind right now because of what I'd read in the most resent entree in the book throwing me for a loop. Not only did it actually take up three pages, it read as such.

" _I'm starting to notice the differences in Junko's little "Shifts" in attitude. During the times when she goes through these memory lapses, there's a noticeable change in her attitude towards others as well as a transformation to her movements. For example, recently I got to see her interact with one of the members of the 77-B class. I think he was supposed to be some kind of animal breeder or something, I didn't care to ask. The guy clearly has a screw lose. He was spouting all kinds talk about being the, "Rising emperor of darkness" or some such nonsense, so it was hard to tell for sure either way. Junko told me that he suffers from delusions of self-grandeur that stem from an inferiority complex and pseudo syndrome known as chuunibyou, something I fully agree with considering all of the insane ramblings of his._

 _Anyway, when he showed up he had this picture of a black cat in his hands that, apparently, Junko had "Liberated from the clutches of an agent of the wooden forest beast." Or in less crazy terms, rescued it from a tree. He had come over to tell her that he had, "Found a worthy master, willing to make the fledgling nekomata of the dark abyss their vassal." Translation, he had found someone willing to adopt the kitten. While I was still reeling from the complete asinine nature of this conversation, Junko went through her little shift thing and started talking just like the lunatic!_

 _It was so surreal._

 _Yet, it was nothing compared to the time she dragged me to visit the school's elementary division. I didn't even know that the school even had an elementary branch. It bothers me when I'm left out of the loop. Still, I couldn't help but feel disgusted with the Steering Committee when I later learned that they had had it built to study goddamn children in another of their asinine "talent searches"._

 _When I asked her why we were wasting our time in this, she told me straight out that she was here to see her, quote, "darling little brothers and sisters" and that she felt that I, of all people, should meet them. It didn't make sense to me at the time, hell, it still doesn't, but she was insistent and would only bother me more if I hadn't gone along. Of all the things that I expected to see though, I wasn't expecting her to walk straight past every main classroom. I had half expected her to head into any of the main rooms, point out one or two random kids, and then drag them out for some monotonous game before leaving them out in the street. I even expected to be kicked out when we stumbled upon one of these mindless excuses for teachers that infest these hallways. Instead, the old hag we met commented that she was surprised to see Junko come back to volunteer to watch the, "little hellions" again, and directed us to the detention hall._

 _In that room, I found the height of hypocritical idiocy. The second she walked through the door, all I could hear was a cry of, "Big sis Junko!" before she got bum rushed by four kids and one cripple, all of them laughing and giggling like a pack of hyenas as they all clamored for her attention and embraces. I just stood there awkwardly staring for a bit, completely dumbfounded by how…lovingly Junko took it too. It was a side I'd never seen of her, all warm and hugging, listening to their every word and responding in kind, thoughtful words of encouragement and respect. It was just so strange to see._

 _Then, she tried to introduce me to them. They instantly went quiet and gave me looks of apprehension, like they were expecting me to lash out at them or something. The first one she showed me was this blue-eyed redhead that looked like he had been in a fight or something because he had several bandages all over his body and one big patch covering a small bruise on the left cheek. Li'l Ultimate P.E. apparently, by the stupid system put in place here no doubt, who said he was the leader of this group of brats._

 _Then this blue haired boy with the dumbest haircut I'd ever seen, seriously it looked like he had two drooping cat ears on his head, came up to me and asked me what my relationship was with Junko. Then he introduced himself as their Li'l Ultimate Social Studies and wanted to challenge me to see if I was even smart enough to even consider looking at her. I wanted to tell the kid to piss off and bother me when he grew up a bit first, but I could feel Junko's glare on me that, for the first time ever, even made me reconsider._

 _Next was a preppy pink haired girl with a hairband that looked like devil horns that had a bow tied to one of the horns who looked at me like I had spat in her ice cream or something. Apparently, as I learned later when Junko wasn't looking, that little Drama Ultimate had a bit of a crush on Junko since they were both, and I kid you not, "Super adorbs" and she thought I was undeserving of her attention because I was, "A disgusting pig that was not fit to be in the presence of someone so wonderful". The only thing that made me refrain from insulting her back was that I was far more impressed that she had said all of this, not only while curtsying, but with the most professional tone of voice I had ever heard from a child._

 _The third one had to be coaxed out from behind Junko, and dear lord I had trouble not commenting on the hideous hodgepodge of a mask he wore on his face. Leather-face from that B-movie was the first thing that I could think of to describe it, it was covered in so many patches I couldn't even tell what it was supposed to have started out as. The only thing I could consider was the breathing tube, but even that could have just been added for all I could tell. Of all the things that this little "Artist" could have asked me to introduce myself, kid asked me if I hated him, and then looked like he was about to start crying when I told him that I didn't just yet. He started babbling about all sorts of strange and disjointed subjects as well, ranging from simply confusing, to outright disturbing. And then he only calmed down when the others stated that there were, "still plenty of people that hated him and his ugly face"._

 _I mean, what the actual hell._

 _And finally, the only one I instantly recognized, the Chief Executive of Towa Group's Robotics Branch, Monaca Towa. Despite being crippled from the waist down, and only being in kindergarten, this insanely smart child had already secured her position in her father's company and was making thousands weekly. In a few years' time, she might even overtake her old man. Yet, here she was, clutching onto Junko's hand like a possessive viper that wasn't about to let go, yet sweetly smiling like she wasn't in anyway upset by my presence. Strangely enough, she spoke entirely in the third person, but it's sadly the most normal thing out of all of their little…quirks._

 _I planned to ask Junko more about how the hell she could get these kids so smitten with her later, and after watching them play and laugh with her, while also ignoring me, I only wanted to know more. It was only when we were walking back to the dorms that she told me that she'd show me later, promising that I would appreciate it more if I had time to internalize what I'd seen so far first. I didn't quite agree at first, but she was addiment so I had to let it drop._

 _Yet, it only proved more that this Junko was a lot more…approachable then the normal one. Though, I still had some concerns. Mostly, ones revolving around that guy that fell on her._

 _I'll admit, I was quite irritated for a while when I learned that they only just got the results on the guy's autopsy. I could have sworn someone with the title of, "Former Ultimate Forensics" would be actually capable at their freaking job. And when she told me that that there was no data on this guy, I was just about ready to take the next flight over to give her a piece of my mind about wasting my precious time. But, then she emailed me the results._

 _It made absolutely no sense, but she had been right. There was nothing. No dental records, no identifying papers, no fingerprints, no record of any kind. There were no signs that he had ever existed. Not just here either. She had checked with the new branch over in America, and they didn't have anything on him either. It was like he didn't exist before that day._

 _And more concerning, how he fell on her. There was far too much open space for him to have simply jumped off a building and there were no planes or helicopters flying anywhere near the school grounds that day, let alone on top of Junko. It was as if he had just appeared out of thin air. The Steering committee may have covered up the whole incident and kept people from finding out about the whole thing, but that doesn't change the fact that there had been no way for him to have fallen on her at those kinds of speeds or with that level of force._

 _This is going to keep me up all night, I just know it."_

So much in that entry. So much to figure out.

For starters, I guess the bit in the beginning with Tanaka. The "Ultimate Breeder" if you will, was the most eccentric person that I could easily remember from the class of seventy-seven. The man was a walking, over the top, animal breeder that single handedly managed to save several species from extinction and was always seen with a small posse of cute little hamsters he lovingly called the "Dark devas of destruction". With his love of animals, and his own very untrue claims of being a demon, it wasn't hard to imagine that Junko, or even me for that matter, using that to earn his favor as an _ally of the dark arts_. He was so fun too, waxing lyrics to make things more epic sounding then it actually was. I could easily see why past me would go to him with a stray kitten.

However, as fun as that image was, I was more concerned with the other part. The one that took up the most room of it all. The part detailing the author's encounter with the "Warriors of hope".

That wasn't supposed to happen, like at all. The story said that Junko didn't find those kids until well into the Tragedy. By that point, they were so starved for love that they had been ready to end it all, and they had been planning to mutually leap off of the building, choosing to die together instead of dying alone. Junko found them right as they were preparing to leap from the top of their school, and convinced them to give their lives to her. Since then, she used their unfulfilled desire for love to twist them into being her unwaveringly loyal tools to continue her bidding along with minor help from the members Ultimate Despair.

That was a great choice on her part because of the little girl named Monaca. The Chief Executive of her families Robotics Branch was the one who was the one of the biggest supporters of Junko's despair, second only to maybe Mukuro. The little roboticist loved Junko, even knowing full well that Junko was manipulating her and the others, so much so that she used her connections to create the very favorite tools that Junko needed for her global plot of despair, the most notable being the very bear I controlled.

That's right, Monokuma and the hundreds of copies that helped run this school, the puppets that were so advanced that they were able to easily overshadow every robot in the world that wasn't from a sci-fi anime. These and so much more were made and produced by this single elementary school student. While I have no doubts that the design was made entirely by the queen of despair herself, the entire production line of the two-faced bear and any merchandise associated with it were all done through the hands of that little girl. Every piece of Junko's plan had hinged on that one little…I think she was a ten-year-old by now.

It's been a while since I first played "Despair girls" after all.

But these pages implied that she met them even earlier then I'd thought, well before the tragedy, and she already had them wrapped around her little finger and made them super possessive of her. She'd already wormed her way into their little hearts and made them love her. But then, when did this happen? How did this happen? Did the past me do this or was this something that Junko figured out from my past self's meddling? The beginning page implies the former, but I can just as well believe it to be the latter.

Then there was the bit at the end talking about how I had died and the results they had found.

To be honest, it wasn't that surprising. I knew very well that I didn't exist in this world before that day, it was idiotic to think otherwise. The fact that I fell on her from such a great height where by all logic I shouldn't have, only helped reinforce that.

Yet, while I was concerned about that, I was more focused on the fact that they'd given my old body an autopsy. It was…difficult to come to terms with my death, the fact that I was still technically alive literally through someone else made it harder to accept. Yet, as I glanced at the pages I saw one thing that prove it to be true.

Attached to the next page was a single picture with a data file listing facts about the person immortalized in the paper. Mostly the standard things like height, weight, gender, noticeable features, things like that. Unfortunately, time and ware had taken a toll on the report. It had clearly been gone over dozens of times as it was heavily crumpled along the corners, but there were also several stains of what I could only assume was either coffee or tea which ruined some of the inking. Strangely though, the part where the picture of the person detailed in it had the most damage of it all, the entire photo had been burned through leaving a sizable hole framed with blackened edges.

It was distressing and rather ominous to see that. To know that someone possessed enough of a grudge against me to burn the only picture of myself that existed in this world; that I knew of. I could only assume why someone would do such a thing. Yet, without any evidence, I could only speculate on the reasons.

From there, several pages were either damaged beyond repair, or had been soaked through to ruin a page or two below it. Trying to pull apart the crusty pages almost ripped them apart, so I had no choice but to leave it be. Not like it mattered really, the ink was ruined and the words were illegible anyway. The only thing I was able to get free from that mess was a part of one page saying something about a phone call Yasuke had with Junko about some apparel store called "Superior outfits, unbelievable prices", but while I chuckled at the reference past me must have made with him, it was too damaged for me to read beyond that small snippet.

Shame, but at least the next few pages past that were well enough for me to read.

" _I don't. I can't. How is._ _Okay, I'm having a bit of trouble trying to rationalize what I'd just seen and heard, so I'm just going to try and just take it a few pieces at a time._

 _It had been a couple of weeks since Junko introduced me to the kids that call her big sis and for every two days, she would drag me away from my precious work to go play babysitter. Every time, I kept telling her that my time can't be wasted on a bunch of snot-nosed little brats, but as usual she didn't listen and dragged me along regardless of my wants._

 _Though, I have to admit, I was kind of interested in the talks I would get into with Nagisa, the blue haired one. It was clear that he was very well learned. Every time I thought he would be lost by a subject I would bring up, be it advanced trigonometry, surgical sciences, law, anything, he could follow along. No, no not follow. Understand and explain it back. Comprehend the concepts involved and even challenge them. All despite being in freaking elementary school. I'm actually surprised that he isn't in much higher grades._

 _Memo to me, stop rambling in these entrees._

 _Today, they were apparently supposed to be given a new teacher that would be helping them with their issues. Per what Junko claims, they all have a complete distrust in most every adult and this new chick was to be their therapist. Problem was, she was a greenhorn, fresh out of college. She had nothing but theories and simulations under her belt where experience was required, and she clearly never spoke with a child in her life. No matter what she said, no matter how nice she acted, the almost baby like talk she gave these kids was far too insulting to ignore._

 _Then, things took a dark turn. It started out fine, she just decided to read them a story to see how they reacted and responded. It's a common method for finding how a child will response to certain stimuli to understand why they act the way they do. It was a simple story too, one that you would read someone to sleep with, titled "Gentle Willow". It's an old book that was used to teach children about dying._

 _That was where things went wrong._

 _The second she uttered the title, all of them tensed up, like they were anticipating something. Then, the pink one started freaking out. She started hyperventilating, sobbing, and muttering something in a disjointed voice. It was as if she was having a panic attack. Junko was the first to react, rushing over and scooping the little girl up into a tight hug, clutching her smaller head into her shoulder with an iron grip that caused her nails to bite into the girl's scalp. I followed her, but before I could even ask what was going on, the other kids started shouting at the befuddled woman. The red-haired kid had to be restrained by Nagisa and the masked boy to keeping him from attacking her. Meanwhile, the Towa girl was trying to help Junko calm down the pink girl. I had to convince the women to leave before they could be reasoned with and start trying to figure out just what in the hell that was all about._

 _It took about an hour before they could pry Junko off the girl without her screaming and latching back on even harder, and during that time the Towa girl and Nagisa explained their situation to me. Junko went into more detail later regarding their background where the kids either didn't know about or were based on their own bias. The short of it, these kids weren't in this perpetual state of detention because they were disruptive or anything like that, it was because they were the ones being tormented. Each of them were living lives of suffering that went beyond sadistic._

 _Starting off was the pink one, Kotoko. She was a victim of something that I wouldn't wish on any kid. Apparently, she was repeatedly subjected to the sexual whims of random men, all of whom used the very same phrase, "I'll be_ _ **gentle**_ _". This has since become her trigger word that causes her to become neurotic and unresponsive in defense, blocking the world out. As if that wasn't fucked up enough, the girls own mother is the_ _bitch_ _one who has been selling Kotoko body the whole time!_

 _Outside of Junko, the only way the kids know how to get her to stop if she ever hears that dreaded word is to swear that they won't be gentle with her while beating on her or even just slapping her around. Otherwise, she'll just get progressively worst till she passes out._

 _The others aren't any better, as I learned from Junko later. Nagisa isn't as smart as he is out of choice, his_ _fucking_ _parents both weekly to daily force him to study far, far beyond what anyone should need. Worst, in the boy's own words, they treat him like he's not even a person, but rather a videogame character. Hopping him up with energy supplements through an IV whenever he started to flag, forcing him to stay up for several hours past what should ever be allowed. And you never want to put any form of expectations on him, because it causes him to flip out from the fear of abandonment that his_ _ass_ _father instilled on him._

 _Masaru's father is a drunken lout that is constantly beating on him for the dumbest of reasons; what fucking moron demands for a ten-year-old to go buy a crate of beer, and honestly expects them to get it? Jataro wears that abomination because his mother is a hag that hates him for looking so much more beautiful then she does, and his obsession with being hated over being loved stemmed from the same source. Monaca Towa was a girl born from an affair, whose so-called mother dumped her on the doorstop of her father completely out of spite, and has had it so bad growing up with her old man and half-brother that she must pretend that she's crippled just to get any form of sympathy. And only Junko has figured that part out._

 _For a moment, I thought that she was telling me this because she wanted me to help get this settled through the CPA, but she reminded me of just how high up on the ladder these sick freaks are. Even ignoring the red-head's dad, the others were so high up on the latter that they would be able to buy off the whole damn investigations district. And even if they couldn't, Towa was one of the highest paying supporters of Hope's Peak, and the steering committee would sooner drop their stupid rule on regular people not being allowed on campus then risk losing all that money._

 _Yet, Junko has apparently decided to pull a fast one on the adults. I hadn't noticed before, but all the kids are wearing the same red bow. Apparently, they were something Junko had made for them, and each one contained a hidden video camera that the kids were using to gather evidence to be used in court when they feel they have enough. In fact, the whole reason that Junko visits them so frequently, aside from brightening up their day, was to collect that data from them for storage. In a few short months, she believes that it will be enough to at the very least get the kids away from their abusers._

 _Though, the concerning part came when I asked what she would do if it failed. I don't need to imagine what she meant when she said she'd have her twin handle it."_

Honestly, neither did I.

Ignoring the bit at the end, I didn't know what to feel about the information this presented me. On the one hand, I hated being reminded of what nightmares those poor misguided and suffering children had to go through. I might not like dealing with kids myself for very long, but that didn't mean that I thought any of them deserved to suffer such injustice.

Abused, abandoned, unloved, those poor kids had had it rough. No, that was understating it. Their lives were a level of hell all its own, a torture I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies. For no reasonable purpose, they suffered everyday of their lives and were pushed down by the very people that should be helping them the most out of all others. It was sickening. I'm almost happy that their parents were dead.

No, you didn't mishear me. I was near glad that they all died in the story before, even despite how it was done. I could care less if it turned out that Mukuro or some other person took them out this time or not, I just didn't care about those monsters in any matter, whatsoever.

Yet, the thing I found strange was how Yasuke had written this time. Unlike the mix of flowing yet mess of letters that he usually wrote in, this set of pages was basically chicken scratch. It wasn't just the choice in words, I could tell just by looking at the rough lettering and thick ink that he had been digging trenches in the paper that he was furious. The amount of times he had to cross out his own words did nothing to prove otherwise. Even though it tampered back to his normal writing near the end, it still felt more like he had just settled down to a simmer.

I had never read the novel that he was introduced in before coming here, so I didn't know much about him aside from what I'd seen on the Wiki page, but I had never thought of him as someone who cares that much about others. Junko was the only exception to that, which wasn't surprising seeing as they were supposedly lovers. Yet, seeing just how much anger he put into the words on these pages, I was starting to reevaluate just how much he cared for humanity.

He put a lot of complaints about everyone in his entries, every other word felt like an insult for someone or something they'd done. The only time he was ever complimenting someone was when he was truly impressed with their intelligence, and even then, he had some way of being bitter. He was a rather backhanded with a lot of things.

Still, I guess even he has a soft spot for kids. Maybe it stemmed from the suffering in his own childhood that he didn't want something happening to others, or maybe it was that he had a bigger heart then he willingly let on. With how much time he spent growing up with Junko, it would be very likely either way.

Regardless, I still had much to think about. The Warriors of Hope, the five kids that practically worshiped the ground Junko walked on. They were one of the biggest pieces of concern for me. The Ultimate Despair were the biggest piece without a doubt, but these kids were still a very large part of her design. As long as they were active, they would be a problem.

In the future, once Junko died, these kids used an armada of Monokuma to take over one of the biggest refuges that had been set up to protect the survivors of the aftermath of the Tragedy. What remained of the world government put a lot of stock in the investment of the massive Towa city that if such a place fell, it would be devastating to the world at large; a part of the reason for the kid's takeover. They also wanted to make the place into a utopia for kids, but that was secondary for the mastermind of the kids.

Wait, no, it was third.

Their actions wouldn't go into play until after this Killing game though, so I shouldn't have to worry much about that. But I was concerned that they might be a problem in the now. Monika especially might be a problem since she not only built the Monokuma units, she might have a way to use them against me.

That blasted letter still had me on edge, the idea that everything would go to hell if I wasn't doing my best to do the worst, I still wasn't sure how exactly they would go about it though. Junko had been rather vague on how the people outside would, quote, "destroy the school", and that was one of the things I needed to understand. How exactly would that be carried out and how could I stop it from happening; if I can prevent it. Junko was a tricky pain in the neck, I would never doubt that she would have a backup plan to keep this game going.

But that left the how, and by whom? The Ultimate Despairs? I'd only seen two thus far purely out of necessity, and they were of the more…less then observant of them. I didn't dare consider risking a call to one of the smarter members on the chance they would see through it instantly. It could be one of their higher ups would be enough to take down this school on their own…maybe. Do I even dare considering their greatest and most powerful member Izuru Kamukura, the former "Ultimate Hope"?

Wouldn't put it past Junko to do that to be honest.

But the one who made the most sense was the little girl Monaca. This little girl made the damned Monokuma after all and filled this school with hundreds of the blasted things. If she had a way to control them from outside, or could override my own, then it wouldn't take much for them to destroy the place from the inside out. Worst, if simply mauling everyone inside wasn't despair ridden enough, the little brat could just have the entire Monokuma supply self-destruct simultaneously.

Possibly…Maybe…I'm probably overthinking it.

' _But what if I'm right and that is what would happen.'_ I thought with a bite to the inside of my cheek. ' _Then you would have ignored a potential threat on blind fate. That's not how you do things if you want to best the mastermind. Best this game_. _I could call the kids, check and make sure.'_

I shook my head at that thought. "No, bad idea. _Horrible_ idea. _Worst idea ever_! If there is anyone who would notice the cracks in my acting, it would be that little brat Monaca. There is no way I would ever…"

' _Still, wouldn't it be better to check, just in case?'_ My thoughts betrayed me and I pressed my index finger to my temple in frustration. ' _Who knows, maybe this was one of the edges you need to keep things going on the right track.'_

"Yeah, but what _is_ the right track?" I expressed my frustration aloud, irritated at the uncooperativeness of my own mind and my own lack of future predictive powers. "I have no idea what I'm doing half the time, and the times I do, I comes with all kinds of consequences I either miss, or don't want to consider."

I groaned as I all but threw myself into my chair, one of my legs propped up on the armrest as I crossed my arms in a huff. This wasn't like a game where I could look up the answers on the chance I got stuck on a choice of action. Not that I do, I'm just saying. I'm all alone in this, and every ally I have has the potential to ruin everything for me. There is no one I can turn to with my questions, only my own wits can be relied on. And even those were in question since I don't know everything I need or should. The only thing I have is my knowledge on the games, the people and places within it, and my own theories.

'… _Then maybe it's time to stop asking what you don't already know, and start searching for the truth in places you don't.'_ My eyes slowly opened as I considered that thought. Maybe…maybe that is what I should do. I had no idea how to stop this game from inside it just yet, I knew this school from top to bottom and knew that there was nothing that I could do in here, so maybe I needed to search outside. I already dipped my feet in the idea with my call to Soda-can and Mikan-girl, maybe I should try a little bit deeper and try someone else.

What was there to really lose anyway, really? I already died once, why not try something a bit riskier?

As I straightened up in the chair and began inching the chair closer to the computer, I considered to myself that, this might actually work to my advantage. I mean, they're kids. This might be easier for me.

As I typed in the number for the kid's video-phone number from the contact list Junko had saved in the computer. I did my best to swallow my nerves.

Fingers crossed that this goes well.

* * *

"Come on, knock it off!" came the whining cry of a young girl as she ran around the room, trying to avoid the boy chasing after her with a wide grin on his face. "Keep that gross thing away from me~"

"What's the matter?" came the teasing remark of the boy as he continued to chase after the pink girl with his arms outstretched towards her, a large green bullfrog covered in mud and slime clutched in his equally filthy hands. "Don't you want to kiss it and see if it'll turn into a prince?"

"No!" She rebutted back with a glare of her angry pink eyes into his mischievous blue ones. "And even if I did; and I'm not saying I would, he would have to take me out to dinner first."

The boy couldn't think of a retort to that, so instead he continued his pursuit with a laugh. Disgusted, the girl could only continue her fleeing with a cry of outrage. Yet, if one was to look at her face they would see a wide grin betraying her amusement. Off to the side of the expansive room that the two were playing in, three other children watched the spectacle with their own looks as their cohorts continued their merry chase. Two of them, both male, carried a shared look of bemusement, but the one who had hair of blue hue also carried a gaze full of irritation at the tomfoolery going on before him.

"Ugh." He groaned as he placed his hand on his temple and began to rub circles on his temple in an attempt to relieve the growing headache he was starting to get from watching this larking around his fellow kids were partaking in. "Can't they be serious for five minutes?"

The other boy didn't really respond to the question, his thought's more focused on other things as evident by his murmuring question, "I wonder why witches would turn princes into frogs. Why not toads? Or maybe slugs? Or crabs? And why do lamas spit at people...?"

The third of their rank, a girl in a wheel chair, only continued to smile as she watched the others from her seat. Her expression was kind, happy to watch the others play around and ignore the incoherent ramblings of the masked boy as he went on and on, and the cries of laughter going on by the other two of her fellow kids. Her hand reached up to cover her mouth as she giggled a little bit. The other boy with blue hair turned to look at her, just to see if there was any need from him, but when she did nothing but smile back cutely he turned away with a small dusting of red on his cheeks.

Monaca couldn't stop the smile of hers from becoming a little more…twisted now that the others weren't looking. It was so pathetically easy to manipulate these idiots to her will. All it took was a little smile here and there, the threat of a tantrum every once in a while, it was so simple she couldn't help but wonder if a chimp could do it.

Her eyes focused on Kotoko and Masaru for a moment, the two arguably strongest members of their group, and she quickly stopped herself from scoffing from that. The only thing strong about them was they were the ones with the biggest tolerance to pain from their parent's abuse, sexual in the former and physical in the later. They weren't anything important otherwise. While the pink lover had some moderate intelligence about her, they were both equally useless in Monica's eyes for letting the thing that had tormented them become their own outlets of aggression.

Oh yes, Monaca was well aware of the things they got up too when they thought she wasn't looking. They had to get their implements of torture for the "demons" through Monaca after all. And honestly, who did Kotoko think she was fooling when she asked for a table that had several groping hands on it? She even called it a "motivation table" for crying out loud.

And Masaru, what a punk. Sneaking out at night to play "Demon Hunter" with his Hero robot she had made as part of the set they all had worked reluctantly together to design, and then trying to pretend nothing happened, and not once stopping to question why it was that all of the scrapes were buffed out every morning and it had been fully charged despite him forgetting to turn on the charging unit…again. It was pathetic how much of a whiny little weakling he really was.

Then her gaze turned to her masked "companion", a term she used very lightly, who had somehow transcended his murmuring questions to some kind of debate over if mud would taste better if it was full of sugar or salt. She shook her head in disgust. If the other two were worthless, then Jataro was pathetic. Always going on about the most disgusting or worthless topics, he never contributes to anything worthwhile to a conversation and he constantly hides in his room to work on his little art projects when he stops feeling content in the hatred everyone gives him; hate that he knows he deserves. And his rants, or "yawns" as he calls them. Completely rubbish wastes of time that do nothing and help nobody. If it wasn't for the fact that he made some of the best artwork for their group and of Big sis Junko she had ever seen, she would have him taken out back and shot years ago.

The only good thing she found in this group of imprudent idiots was Nagisa, the _second_ smartest member of them. Even though he had that stupid belief that he needed to babysit them all because of his greater intelligence, he was the only one of them that actually knew what he was talking about eighty percent of the time. And that silly crush he had on her that he thought he was being oh so careful about hiding from her, if she had any interest in a relationship it might have been endearing, but it was so easy to manipulate him with it that Monaca couldn't care less about how pathetic it was. Now if only she could get him to drop that serious attitude he tried to make of himself.

If the youngest Towa was honest with herself, then she would say she hated them all. They were so pathetic, easy to turn against each other, and complete utter hypocrites in every sense of the word. True, the had their uses here and there, but those moments were so far and few that she couldn't be bothered counting them. They were bit players, unworthy of her attention, let alone big sister's love.

Yet, it was that very love that stilled her whenever her thoughts turned to the dark road of trying to get rid of them. If there was one thing that Junko made very clear, it was that she truly did care about them all, and while she eventually did plan to use Monaca's talent as the head of robotics in her father's company, she still loved all five of them like they were her own children. She was everything they had ever wanted in a sister, mother, and beyond. She was kind, she legitimately cared about their problems, had done her best to make sure they were all happy. She read them stories, she helped them with anything the needed. And Monaca knew that if anything happened to them on her watch it would absolutely devastate Junko, and if that happened she was certain that cause herself to break down as well.

It was why the only time the Warriors of Hope mutually agreed on something that Monaca didn't manipulate them into agreeing was when their beloved big sis had told them that she was going to be locked up in the high school with her classmates. The five kids had been completely distraught at the time, begging Junko not to go, demanding to know why they were being separated from her after she had done so much for them, pleading to let them come join her in the lock down.

Monaca quickly and discreetly wiped away the tear that was forming at the memory, making absolutely sure that none of the others had a chance to notice. That memory was arguably the most painful one she had in her time on this green earth. Remembering the moment Junko scooped them all into her arms, tears in her eyes as she gave them all a peck on the head swearing that she loved them, promising to return one day and begged them to be brave till then. It had broken all of their hearts to be separated from her, but in that moment of weakness, she had managed to convince Monaca to allow them all to live with her in her own private residence that she had been "gifted" by her _father_ as a clear bribe to keep her from ruining him.

What a fool he was.

Still, it meant she had to endure moments like this where one or more of the others were doing something stupid and she had to tolerate it with a grin to keep things going where she needed them. Now that Junko's plan to start a killing game was in effect, it would only be a matter of time before their beloved big sister would return to embrace the green haired girl again.

Well, she would hug the others too, unfortunately, but that would only be a minor problem at best.

Just as she was thinking about all the fun things that she and her big sis would be able to do when she got out, she and her fellow kids were cut off from their various thoughts and chase when there was a sudden chiming from her computer, one that she had built so that she could be updated on the situation in the outside world. A frown came to Monaca's face at that sound, as she hadn't heard that sound for a long while now. It was one she had that only went off when she was receiving a video call from someone. Normally not a problem since she was the head of robotics in her _father's_ company, but that didn't make much sense to her since the chime this time was from her personal private line that only a select few should know about.

Those few allowed to know of it were, in order of least important to most were, her _father_ , the technician for her branch of the company, the second in charge of the same branch, her lawyer, and Junko herself. They were the only ones allowed to even think about calling her, though the first one was only able to know about it because he had been required to set it up in the first place.

The others though, it was something that she had made sure they knew to only call in case of an emergency, like the factory blowing up or something of that level of importance. That was the only time they were allowed to call her, never anything less. The only exception was obviously Junko, but the girl that Monaca loved had told them explicitly that she wouldn't be able to use it very often since there was a chance that it could be hacked and tracked; a very small chance since it was a computer Monaca had made herself, but there was still a chance.

There were so many things that constituted as a Super Highschool Level talent, and neither Junko nor Monaca had believed for a second that there wasn't possibly a Former-Ultimate Hacker of some sort out there that could screw up everything for them all at some time, despite the lack of most of the internet remaining. Because of that, they had both agreed that it would be best if they limit their communications till Junko was out of the school. It hadn't been a desired choice, but it was one they knew needed to happen.

So, it should come to no surprise that she and the others let out a sharp gasp when they saw the face of the girl they all loved like a sister or mother pop up on the screen with a big grin on her face. Masaru even tossed the muddy frog to the side without a thought as he and Kotoko quickly gave up on their chase to scramble over to see the only one who loved them.

"Big sis Junko!" they all chimed at once, completely shocked by her appearance. In their eye's she looked as beautiful as ever, her hair in the usual pigtails that they all knew she preferred, her smile they all loved on full display. However, the simple fact that she was even here was so surprising that all they could do was stare when she started to giggle.

"Hey there! How are my favorite kids doing today?" She spoke with such happiness in her voice, her eyes practically glowing to the five children as they looked at her in a mixture of shock and joy. They were unable to respond for a minute, unsure if they were seeing what they thought they were. Their most beloved person that they all treasured more than anything in the world was here, on the computer screen, in all of her high definition glory. The girl they had started to fear they would never see again for years.

Masaru was the first to recover, his brash nature finally coming in handy for something for once. "Hey! Big sis! Hey, you're here!"

Just like that, the spell of silence that had enveloped them all was swiftly broken, resulting in the others immediately clamoring for Junko's attention. Kotoko asked if Junko was okay, if she was wanting some girl talk, and she threw in a comment about how super adorbs the blond girl was looking today. Masaru, the lout was trying to tell their adoptive big sis of the various "brave" things he'd done, trying to overpower the others with his loud voice, and even gloating about a few of the various "pranks" he'd been pulling recently that she had missed out on. The wimp Jataro was practically drowned out in between the two of them, but he still tried to ask their precious big sister various questions, some about her wellbeing, but most of them were nonsensical nonsense; per the norm.

Their wonderful sister, always so much more patient and saintly then these chumps ever deserved, simply nodded along, giving compliments where needed, asking to know more about the matters that interested her or explanations where needed. She answered what she could, provided the three loudmouths gave her a chance to speak, and when she felt she absolutely needed to be heard she spoke very loudly and concisely. She held their attention flawlessly, as expected from someone as perfect as her, and never let either one of them feel left out of the conversation for long. It was so endearing of her to lavish so much care on them all and it was absolutely inspiring to watch Junko work her charm on these simpletons.

Sadly, or rather thankfully, there was always a wet blanket around to smother the flames of their fun.

"Hold on a moment everyone." Nagisa interjected, his stern voice demanding the attention of everyone in the room. "What's going on Junko? I thought you told Monaca that you wouldn't be calling us at all."

Junko blinked inside the monitor, her smile fading for a more concerned expression as she gazed at the blue themed boy. "What's the matter Nagisa, do you not want me to talk to you?"

Instantly, the boy with cat ear lost his thunder as he flinched back, and Masaru quickly jumped to defend their big sister. "Nagisa! Why would you say that!? She finally calls us after forever, and you want her to bug off? I ought-a punch you in the mouth for saying that."

Before the blue haired boy could say more than a startled "That's not what I meant!" Junko cut in with a depressed sigh. "No, I understand. You're growing up after all. It only makes sense that you wouldn't want to spend time with your big sister anymore. You want to be more independent and all that, it's fine. I get it."

Monaca knew their big sis was just messing around, just wanting to get a reaction from the boy, but it was the way the others quickly turned against him that made it much more interesting. The way he quickly lost his serious face for one of shock was absolutely hilarious, and the upset glares the others leveled against him only made it funnier.

Quickly realizing that he was in a bad spot, the bluenette ducked averted his gaze with an embarrassed blush as he pressed his index fingers together. "M-My apologies Junko. I didn't mean to offend you. I really am happy that you called, I was just concerned you were taking an unnecessary risk in calling us. Please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive." Junko rebutted with a smile, cutting off any remarks from the other kids in the process. "I knew what you meant. Like you said, you were just concerned in my safety, nothing wrong with that. I just want you to think about how you say things like that in the future; you might accidentally make an enemy of someone you don't want to if you're not careful about that."

Nagisa merely nodded with a nervous statement of, "R-Right. Thank you, Junko." Then he stepped to the side a bit to let Monaca roll closer, his question forgotten in the wake of his being chastised. Without letting her adorable smile waver even slightly, Monaca moved her electric wheelchair closer to the screen, the others following Nagisa's lead and moving out of the way for her. Then after stopping just before the table the screen stood upon, the youngest Towa gave out a small giggle.

"It's so good to see you, Big sis Junko!" she stated with her hands balled up in front of her as if she was praying before throwing them up high in the air like she was on a decent of a rollercoaster. "Monaca is so happy to see you again! Please, tell Monaca you're excited to see us!"

There was a brief pause from her Big sis, so brief she almost missed it like the others clearly did, but then Junko smiled back in return and said, "You know I am! It's been torture being away from my little warriors, I tell ya. It's so good to see your smiling faces again."

Monaca continued smiling as the others blindly basked in her praises, but inside, she frowned. That momentary pause, it raised an alarm in her head. Junko never pauses during her intro, it wasn't like her. That also wasn't the line that she was supposed to say. It was close, but Junko's line was supposed to be "Darling warriors" not "Little". No, that was the line of the _other_ Junko, the one that was _better_ than the normal Junko. The better Junko who actually loved them, the one who had done everything she could to save them from their demon parents, and the one who wanted the best of them.

Mama Junko, the name Monaca liked to call her, was in every way the batter Junko in the eyes of the youngest Towa. A separate Junko that had easily seen through every last act of deception Monaca had tried, even figuring out that the little girl had been faking her state of being crippled, as well as why she was doing it, and had held her close instead of pushing her away afterward, like a real mother would. Mama Junko had been the one they all thought of as a mother internally, even if they refused to actually call her that out loud since they didn't want their own contempt for their own birth mothers to transfer over to her, as she was better than any mother they had before. As for Monaca, she loved both parts of Junko of course, but Mama Junko held a slightly bigger place in her heart.

The others didn't know about the fact that their beloved big sister had two sides to her, the two acted so similar that it wasn't immediately obvious which was which after all so it wasn't hard to see why their pathetic brains wouldn't piece it together. Monaca wasn't going to help them find out either, as she only called her Mama when in private, and only when she was sure which one she was speaking to.

But, there was only one way to be sure.

"Monaca has a question big sis." She started, her words spoken slowly to emphasize how important this was, something that Junko clearly caught as her own face became a bit more serious looking as well. With the knowledge that her sis was paying close attention to her now, Monaca continued. "Does big sis know the code for the new world secret?"

Junko blinked a few times in confusion, clearly not having expected that question, but just as she was creasing her brow in thought, that idiot Masaru groaned out loud. "Come on Monaca, I know you want to be sure and all, but why do you have to ask her that every time we see her?"

God, how she hated that moron. How many times had he asked that question only for Kotoko to interrupt with a sigh? Well, it would be at least one more time. "For the hundred time, it's Monaca's rule. With so many people trying to copy big sis Junko's super adorbs style all the time these days, we need to be careful not to let some imposter trick us."

He in turn, glared at her with a blush on his face, clearly forgetting that fact once again just like he'll forget right after the meeting once again. "I-I know that! I'm the leader after all, so of course I know all of the rules we made. I just meant that there's no way this isn't the real big sis because she called on Monaca's computer. I mean, who else could it be?"

Nagisa, ever so tired of having to be the thinker of the group, gave the ginger a condescending shrug and said, "Like Kotoko said, there are a lot of imposters out there trying to milk Junko's fame right now for all it's worth, and this wouldn't be the first time someone tried hacking Monaca's mainframe to do it."

Masaru still didn't seem convinced as he crossed his arms roughly and said, "Oh yeah! When!?"

"Last week," Kotoko answered in Nagisa's stead, her tone teasing as she did. "You don't remember because you were too busy trying to put a bucket of glue over Jataro's door."

Realizing that she had him beat on that, Masaru turned away with a grumble, completely ignoring his prank victim's muttering about how it felt like to be coated in glue. "I thought my skin was going to rip off when I took off my clothes. Hey, would that have meant that I would be wearing a skin suit when I put them back on?"

The others blatantly ignored that little yawn, more then used to disregarding what he said without a thought. But there was someone who answered him anyway. "Not really, it would still be your skin after all. It would just be a bunch of dead skin stuck to your clothes till you cleaned them."

Monaca had to pause at that remark from their big sis, the weirdness of the statement was something she hadn't expected so it threw her off for a second even when Jataro said that it made sense. It was yet another point to this being the Junko she called mama, she had been the only one who would take the confusing artist's yawns seriously enough to come up with a response. She always took all of Jataro's words so seriously, even when she really shouldn't, it was no wonder the small boy thought the world of her. She was the only one who listened to him.

Still, it wasn't what Monaca had wanted to hear. Clearing her throat, the green haired girl was about to start up the act of throwing a tantrum to get everyone to shut up so she could hear Junko answer her question from earlier, when Junko cut her off with, "Anyway, the passcode, right? It's one, one, zero, three, and seven, right?"

Outwardly, Monaca cheered for her big sis with a simple, "Yay! Big sis Junko remembered!" but on the inside, she was absolutely relieved. That was definitely the code of Mama Junko, the only code Big sis Junko would never be able to figure out. It required knowledge that the big sis side of her was completely unaware of, and unable to access herself. Monaca didn't know exactly where the code came from herself, but she knew that Mama had always used that code for anything she thought was important, so it only made sense that she would make it their passcode to identify her.

Now that that was out of the way, she didn't need to give Junko any more problems. "So, did you need something from Monaca, Big sis?"

"Nothing too important aside from seeing your smiling faces again." Mama Junko lied with an endearing smile that had the others fooled without a problem, so simple their thoughts that they didn't even notice. "But, I did have a question about Monokuma."

Monaca blinked, not having expected that. "What did big sis want to know?"

"I was wondering if you're able to control them from outside the academy at all." Junko stated with an inquisitive expression on her face. "I've got a new idea for a future motive involving Monokuma, and while I can give them orders no problem from in here, I wanted to know if you would be able to send in some program to them for me. You would know them better than I do after all."

Monaca beamed at the praise, ecstatic that she was being trusted with such an important task from her big sis. Big sis Junko had gone on and on about how important her motives for the killing game were for her, and had explicitly stated that she didn't trust anyone with setting them up but herself. The only time she made an exception was when she was absolutely positive that she couldn't do it herself. So, to hear that she was asking Monaca explicitly for her help filled the girl with a feeling of pride, joy…

And despair.

"I'm sorry Big sis, but Monaca wouldn't be able to do anything like that." The green haired girl pouted as she crossed her arms and turned her head away. "Monaca tried that already, but the programmer girl set up a firewall around the school mainframe. Monaca's magic is super strong, but her magic can't breach it no matter how much Monaca tries."

And hadn't that been the most infuriating thing the genius child had had to deal with. She had hacked into all kinds of government files, security, and all kinds of top secret organizations. She had infiltrated the most well founded and secure accounts of world leaders all over the world, and robbed them blind without leaving a trace of her presence behind. She had even hacked into the computer systems of the Future Foundation without breaking a sweat. Yet, somehow, that meek little girl little under twice her age had managed to build a wall that Monaca couldn't even scratch no matter how hard she tried

"So, you can't influence the Monokuma at all?" Junko asked, almost sounding relived, but Monaca knew she was disappointed in her. So, she quickly shook her head and explained, "No Monaca can, but that requires Monaca to send a Monokuma with a code into the building, but Monaca would have a lot of trouble doing that because of all the junk Monokuma would have to go through to get to the academy from here."

"I see." Junko looked disappointed, no doubt from Monaca's inability to help her in her plans. It made the green-eyed girl feel terrible, like she had betrayed her loving mother's trust by failing an exam she knew she should have aced. It broke the little girl's heart to see that and she averted her gaze to avoid looking at the fashion model's expression. She could hear the other kids trying to cheer her up, trying to make her feel better, but it was entirely white noise to her at that moment; a minor annoyance at best.

They didn't have more than the slightest clue how upsetting it was for her to fail her cherished Junko's high expectations like this, she only gave them a small amount of her expectations by comparison. Masaru was a brute, Jataro was a weirdo, Kotoko was a hypocrite, and Nagisa, for all his smarts, was the most childish of them. They didn't have even the slightest idea of what it meant to fail something that actually mattered. Monaca ran a company, she was in charge of hundreds of lives, each one worthless to her, but she had to make sure they were able and willing to work every day until she found a way to replace them on a more permanent basis. Each of these required her to stress, to fight, and to push herself beyond her limits to keep running, and no matter how much she wanted to quit, to go back to being a normal kid, she had force herself to keep pushing.

It wasn't for her _father,_ he had given her the position to watch her crumble and fail. The robotics branch was barely five percent of the Towa corporation's revenue, and even if it failed, he could just swoop in and fix whatever she messed up and write it off as her trying to be more important than she had any right to be. True, that was just something Junko hypothesized to her, but it had been supported by the other Junko as well so it had to be true.

After all, whenever both sides of Junko agreed on something, they had yet to be wrong.

She did the work because Junko needed her too, she kept that part of the company in the green to help her adopted big sister's plans. She couldn't give a damn if it made her father proud or disappointed, he only cared about his public image. Junko was different, she loved Monaca, and she loved her back in turn.

But now, she was failing someone she actually gave a damn about, and that hurt more than anything else. She hated failing Junko even a little, and now she failed because of something she couldn't even control.

Just as she was about to break away from the others and roll back to her room to mope, Junko's melodic voice pierced the haze of despair looming over her. "It's alright sweetie, it's okay. I understand. There's nothing wrong with it, I just need to change my plans a bit. It's perfectly fine."

Now, Monaca wasn't a fool by any stretch of the imagination, on some level she could see exactly the manipulations Junko was trying to employ on her. The sweet tone to calm her down, the use of a term of endearment to make her feel happier so that she would respond to the tone better, and the dissociation of responsibility by using the word "my" instead of "our" so that she wouldn't feel like it was in anyway her problem. Yet, on another level, she had to admit that it was working.

It didn't help that Junko then said, "Oh, I wish I could just reach through this screen and give you all a hug." It was a tactic of promising the unfeasible to make them feel like she did love them and would be willing to do the impossible for their sake, which worked on the others perfectly if their touched expressions were to be believed. Even she felt happier after hearing that.

And then Masaru opened his big mouth.

"Don't worry about it, Sis! Once everything is set up we'll never have to worry about any of those stupid demons keeping us apart again." The others instantly tensed up at his remark, and Monaca herself cursed his name under her breath, when Junko looked at him with a glare laced in suspicion.

"Set up…?" she asked, but the look it the fashionista's eye told them explicitly that she was demanding an answer. The look spoke of the untold horrors that awaited them if they didn't tell her _exactly_ what he meant by that. A collective shiver ran down their spines, and even Masaru seemed to catch on to their impending doom as his expression became far more forced as a result of his fear.

Almost as one, the others turned to their designated manager for quick explanations and alibis, Nagisa, who returned their looks with a deadpanned expression. "Seriously?" he didn't so much say so much as he proclaimed with his gaze, not wanting to try and risk upsetting their big sis. All they could offer in response was their own pleading gazes and begging smiles. He sighed in response, his own repeated experiences in this situation allowing him to turn that sigh into one that looked like he was trying to not to feel upset for a surprise being ruined instead of one of frustration as he turn back to the screen.

"It was supposed to be a surprise gift for when you got out, but I guess it can't be helped." He began to say in a disappointed tone, but they all could see it was in them and the fact that they threw him under a bus more than anything else. "We've been working on those adoption forms you were trying to get passed for the past few months now, the ones that'll let you take us in as your kids that we've been trying to get approved of for the last few months, and Monaca finally found a lawyer that was able to get most of it finished without your need to be there."

"Y-Yeah, that was the biggest problem we kept having trouble with." Jataro picked up with his slow speaking voice without the need to be told. "They kept telling us that you needed to be present to sign the paperwork, and that you needed to have a lot of money, and that you needed to own a house and stuff. It was a _real_ hassle. Um, also why do they call a horse's and a donkey's child a mule? Why not a horkey?"

Kotoko quickly picked up to prevent the conversation from getting any further off the rails. "So, Monaca went and found some better lawyer guy that would get most of it done in your name, and would hold the papers off until you were able to come out and sign the papers. She even went and used some of the money in her bank to get us all a house and a grant from the sleazy perverts in the government that give you money to help with our adoptions. Also, isn't it super adorbs that some animals will take in other animal's babies when they find them lost and alone?"

Monaca quickly took the reins before she could devolve into an equally pointless discussion as Jataro's. "All that's left is for Monaca's father to pass on and for Big sis Junko to sign the documents and we can start being a real family. And then Big sis Junko will become Mama Junko; the best mother in the world! And nothing like the bad mothers."

The best part was, it wasn't an actual lie. They actually did do all of that and every last bit of it was true, the only things that were a sort of lie was the fact that they had actually had the papers signed, the date they were planning to announce it, and that they hadn't used just a lawyer to make it all possible. Her father wasn't the only one who could use their money to make things happen that they shouldn't legally be able to after all.

But it got the aim of their attempt to distract their big sister from Masaru's slip up and focused on something unrelated. She had been rendered speechless at the news, her expression constantly shifting between a mix of shocked, happy, terrified, excited, and distressed. All emotions Monaca had expected to see flashed across their eventual mother's face.

She had to compliment Nagisa for his quick thinking. True, they were planning to announce it when Junko's birthday rolled around this year if her killing game took that long since they knew it was her most hated day of the year bar none. Even the other side of her hated it, even if for different reasons. They all wanted to do something to make her feel even just a bit happier on such an important day. But seeing the look on her face in this moment made that bit of disappointment in telling her early fade like mist in the wind.

"I…I-I don't know what to say." Junko admitted, and Monaca couldn't have stopped the thrill she felt at finally shocking the once thought of impossible to surprise into being unable to respond. With how easy it was for the strawberry-blond to figure out everything at a moment's notice, it made it this moment one that Monaca knew would be treasured for years to come by her and the other warriors of hope.

"You don't have to say anything." Masaru told Junko with his chest puffed out in undeserved pride as he rubbed the area under his nose like that one manga character he really liked. "As the _leader_ of the Warriors of Hope, I can already tell how excited you are. I bet you can't wait to come out of that stuffy, boring school to hang out with us!"

"Yeah…yeah, I can't…wait." Junko stated as tried to process the information she'd been given. However, the last word of her statement had come out with a look of realization and suspicion as she turned to look at the blue eyed, roughhouse lover "Leader?"

Always excited to brag about himself, and completely unable to tell when someone was using that attribute to blatantly change the subject, he puffed out his chest even harder and explained. "Yep! I'm the super awesome leader that unites the Warriors of Hope with a bang. I used my amazing skills to rise to the top to claim this title as the Hero class and because the one who will stand bravely on the front lines like a _real_ leader should; not like those stupid adults who hide in the back and make the others do the work for them. Pretty cool, right?"

"You beat them in Roshambo, didn't you?" Junko deadpanned at his exaggerations and effectively removed the wind from his sails and left him a stuttering, blushing mess. Monaca had a feeling that if any of his fellow warriors had done that he would have whined about it, but Junko was someone he could never find it in himself to do such a thing to since he knew how much their big sis hated it when people whined.

"…Yes." He muttered as he ducked his head and started fiddling with his headphones in embarrassment at being called out. His cheeks had also grown a shade of red as he refused to look Junko in the eye. She in turn sighed and placed a hand on her cheek in thought.

"Still, you were made the leader in the end, so I have no reason to complain. But are you sure your up for such a position? It's a lot of responsibility after all." Her tone was full of concern for him, and it clearly threw the sporty boy off of his game. He wasn't even able to respond before she continued, "Do you even know what a leader is?"

"Yeah, of course I do." Masaru replied, but the bravado he usually carried was noticeable absent in his voice. "They tell people what to do, and they're really liked and respected, a-and they don't have to be afraid of anything, because they have everyone's support."

"Ah, but that's only part of it. You'll not only be the one in charge, but you'll also be responsible for everyone else. If something happens then you'll be the one held at fault; even if you weren't responsible. As the leader, that means you'll basically have to be the big brother of the group." Junko's expression changed ever so slightly a small smile worked its way into her caring face. "You know what that means right?"

"N-No, what?" Masaru asked her, and that smile on her face grew just a little bit more when he lifted his head to look to her.

"It means that you'll be everyone's protector, their guardian, and you will have to be willing to help them with their problems. You'll need to put everyone ahead of yourself and be their guiding light leading by example, to make sure that they will always someone to talk. Everything about you will be for others, your strength will be their strength until they're strong enough to act on their own, you will be their shield until they can defend themselves, and you will be their sword until they can fight for themselves. Do you think they can do that?"

Monaca was impressed by Junko once again. Ever since that smile appeared on the fashionista's face, Masaru had slowly perked up, becoming more and more stunned as she went on. Monaca couldn't remember the last time she had seen the redhead rendered so deep in awe that he couldn't even speak, his jaw hanging limply as the weight of his title finally hit him. She could see tinges of doubt in the back of his eyes, wondering if he had what it takes to hold such an important position as the sword and shield of the Warriors of Hope, questioning if he could do all of that with his own weaknesses weighing him down. Then Junko asked him that and despite the overwhelming fear he no doubt felt, he swallowed his rising fears, and spoke as clearly as he could.

"Y-Yeah, I think I can…No, I know I can do that! I'll be everyone's hero big brother, just you watch Big sis Junko!" He spoke with such conviction that she almost believed him for a moment, but Monaca could see the small shakes in his hands and the sweat forming on his brow that proved him to be a liar; both to himself, and Junko.

There was no doubt that Junko saw as well, but she clearly wasn't going to comment on it, so Monaca decided she wouldn't either. Instead, Junko said, "I know you will, because you'll have the support of all of your other Warriors as well."

That remark had been completely unexpected, and none of them were able to form a proper response besides the traditional Huh, What and Eh. So, Junko started again. "Well, you are the Warriors of Hope after all. That means you are a team, a whole unit, and you have to work together. Let me ask you something. If he's the leader, who's the second in command?"

"Uh, that would- that would be me, Junko." Nagisa admitted, momentarily stumbling over his words at being so suddenly called out. Junko did nothing to chastise him for his mistake, instead smiling in his direction.

"I figured as much, you are the most levelheaded one hear after all. That being said, your duties are just as important as Masaru's. While his job if to protect everyone he can, there will be times when he won't be able to get to everyone, so as the smartest one, your job is to strategize and plan for everything. There will be times when the others will struggle, and times when the enemy will come at you with everything they got seeking to overwhelm you. So, when they do, it will be your job to work _with_ your leader to outwit and overpower them."

The two boys turned to each other in thought both holding looks that said very clearly how much they didn't like the idea of working together, but Junko continued regardless. "I know you two don't see eye to eye on a lot of things, but for everyone's future, you'll need to be willing to work together; even when you don't like it. I'm not asking you to agree on everything, but try to listen to each other to come up with the best plans that you can. Okay?"

Both were still reluctant to agree, and none of them needed any thought about why. The two boys were very different in everything and rarely agreed. Even when they did, they always bickered about it. Monaca had barely managed to restrain her laughter at the thought of these two ever getting along. Then Junko's next words nearly caused her to break.

"Of course, Jataro, Kotoko, and Monaca shouldn't be forgotten about either. They're your teammates as well after all and they are just as important to listen too." The two boys looked at her in confusion while the other two were just like Nagisa had been when she had called on him.

"Really?" Kotoko asked alongside the three boys, but she continued without them. "I mean, I can totes believe that you would include me and Monika in this because we're both super adorbs girls, and girls are said to be bunches smarter than boys…" She purposefully ignored the affronted glares the two male leaders gave her at that remark. "But, why would you include smelly old Jataro in this. Aside from his paintings and sculptures, he's worthless."

Monaca had to dig her nails into her thigh to avoid laughing at the distressed face the masked boy from the verbal lashing he had just taken and the depressing murmurings of some sort he'd fallen into over it, babbling something about wondering if it was possible to make himself into a painting without losing all of his body parts in the prosses. The sad sack really should be used to those kinds of comments anyway, it's not like it was the first time they'd insulted and belittled him after all. And even the ones of them who didn't still ignored or interrupted him on the regular. Really, Kotoko was right, he was pointless.

So why was Junko now giving them such a disappointed glare?

"Kotoko, let me ask you something." Junko stated with a tone that sounded kind, but it carried a deathly sharp edge that even had Monaca feel like her life required her to stay silent…or else. "Do you know what the most important aspect about all of my plans are and why no one has been able to stop me?"

Kotoko wasn't able to answer, the look on Junko's face had completely thrown her off her game. Understandable really, Junko had never glared at any of them before, at least not like this. Yet Junko was patient and waited for her response; another flag to be concerned about. The pink colored girl turned to look at the others of an answer, but none of them were any help which forced her to turn back and stutter out her best guess.

"U-Um, it's because you…you, um. It's…because you're super-duper smart? A-And because adults are complete idiots?" she tried her best, but it was clear on her face that she had never even considered such a thing. To them, Junko was a perfect being, flawless.

"You're not wrong, Kotoko." Junko started with a sort-of confirmation, "However, most of my best work is because of my creativity and imagination. Any old yahoo can stab a person and blame it on someone else, but they are caught most of the time because they don't think of everything they need to hide the facts. Anyone can pick up a game of go and eventually master every strategy you can think of, but without a creative mind that just becomes as boringly predictable as it gets. It takes a creative mind that thinks outside of the box to win anything important in life, to think in ways no one would ever be able to in the heat of the moment. A master killer will go out of their way to make the crime so convoluted that only a Sherlock Holmes level of Ultimate Detective could stand a remote chance at figuring it out. Without creativity, games like go wouldn't even exist. And if I wasn't so imaginative, I never would have stood a ghost of a chance at saving you all from those demons."

She gestured towards the stunned Jataro next with a wave of her hand, even as the others cringed a bit at the memories of their very much former parents. "He might not be as articulate as you all are, but he more than makes up for it with wild ideas no one else would be able to think of. That's why he's part of this as well. Whenever the other two can't out-wit the enemy and fail to be stronger than them, it falls to Jataro to be more creative than them. To come up with plans that a demon would never consider, the wildcard that throws off every possible contingency they could ever think of. That's why he's there to help you; whether you want it or not."

None of them had a response to that, to stunned they were to do so. They had always just assumed that their beloved Junko had only brought Jataro along out of pity, a whim even would have been more likely than the idea that it was because she thought he had something to offer the group. So, to have that expectation shattered like all of the other ones that had been taken down today and completely shut down, it left them all silent. Even the very person they were talking about had been rendered silent by the support of their big sister. Monaca could see that Jataro's eyes had even started to flood over with tears of gratitude at being given so much kindness at once, he wasn't able to process it all and had become a crying mess as a result.

Yet, now that it had been said, Monaca _could_ see what Junko was talking about. There had been a few times in the past that Jataro had come up with some ideas of worth…sometimes. He had been the one to tell Junko that they had no way of safely catch their parents in the act, and then she had come up with the camera bowties in response. It had also been one of his yawns that had helped her come up with the plan that would bring them together with their treasured Junko again; no matter where she was. She had just written it off as her own plan because it _had_ been from his yawn that it formed and he barely ever remembered those anyway.

Maybe there was more to him then she first thought.

That would have to wait though, because Junko wasn't done yet. "Kotoko, you're a fighter as well, the backline that the others will count on whenever something goes wrong. You're also the stealthiest and can find ways into locations none of the others can. You're the jack of many trades that can be relied on in an emergency and the most adept at trickery for fooling even the savviest of demons. You're also the best at reading people and finding what to say to trick them into trusting you. When there comes a time for figuring out how someone is thinking, there is few that they could ever do a better job then you. Not to mention, you are super-duper, extra adorbs."

Kotoko blushed heavily at the compliments and was twisting on her heels with her fingers laced behind her back. A happy smile had been slapped across her face at Monaca doubted there was much that could be done to take it away from her in this moment. She was almost tempted to try though.

However, she restrained that urge quickly as Junko had saved the best for last. With a grin rivaling the Grinch, the fashion diva turned to Monaca with words of praise. "Finally, Monaca might not be able to fight herself, but I think we all agree that she's the backbone of the entire group. She keeps you guys from killing each other on the regular, and is the sole person responsible for your finances. Without her, the Warriors of Hope would have never stood a chance against the nasty demons out there waiting to hurt you all again and again. She's the heart that keeps you all going when I'm unable to be there, so don't forget that."

Monaca beamed brightly as the others nodded in agreement to their big sister's claims, not a single one of them able or willing to argue against it. They were all there because of her, even if Junko had swooped them off their feet and saved them where Monaca could not. The smallest Towa had been the one to start this all, and was the one keeping it together under one united banner.

"You all are the Warriors of Hope, the defenders of kids from the evils of the demons in the world. Your strength comes from each other, just as much as it comes from yourselves. I'm not asking for perfection, or for you to blindly agree with everything the others say, but I do want you to never forget to accept each other and work together to bring out the best in one other. Remember that, because when I do get out, we'll be a family, and family stays together, stands up for each other, and fights together. Can you promise me that?"

The entirety of the Warriors of hope nodded in agreement, though Masaru had actually shouted his agreement for them all to hear. Even Monaca nodded along, though she and Junko knew very well that she didn't really mean it much. Yet, she knew it would be best for her to play along with to keep the others happy, so with practiced ease she swallowed her disgust and stated in the cutest tone she could, "Absolutely Big sis Junko! Monaca promises that we'll always get along!"

Junko was far from convinced even when they all spoke words of agreement, but before she could say anything, her attention was suddenly grabbed by something off screen and it made her frown. Monaca could hear the angered mutterings of the fashionable women sounding something like, "Oh, now what does that prick want?" before she turned back to the screen with a cringe on her face.

"I'm sorry guys, I gotta go. Work's calling." The kids whined in disappointment, not wanting to be separated from their big sis again, but she wasn't having any of it. "Now, now. None of that. I've already given you guys far more time then I should have, and if I don't go now, then we all might be at risk."

The others reluctantly nodded along, knowing she was right but wasn't something they wanted to agree with. Still that didn't stop Jataro from asking her, "Will you call us again soon?"

"I'll have to see. It might not be for a while though." Junko said with disappointment in her voice, and Monaca could easily tell that it was because she wouldn't have time to do so in the imminent future and that made the green haired girl feel sad. She had really enjoyed this short time with her, even if she was sharing it with the others.

Sadly, this call was over. With a spoken goodbye followed by an, "I love you." Junko cut the connection leaving them looking at themselves in the blackness of the screen. They were silent for a moment as Monaca reached forward to turn of the monitor, and stayed in that silence for a time to process everything that had happened. Occasionally, one of them would glance at one of the others, contemplating the words said about whomever they glanced at, before resuming their depressing staring at the blank screen.

One thought that they kept returning to though, with or without the others knowledge was up for debate, was the surprise that Junko had even called them in the first place. They had just started to believe that they might never see her again aside from her appearances on the TV, and had just started to accept that. It hurt, ungodly so, to think that she might have abandoned them so that she could play her killing game, but it made her happy so they let her go through with it. They were willing to put their happiness aside for her sake.

But that raised the question. "Why now?"

The others turned to the blue haired boy when he asked that, but with his gaze down in thought, he didn't notice. "Why would Junko call us now, when she told us that she wouldn't be able to? Junko had quite a bit of time between getting placed in the academy, and now well into her game. So, why did she wait until now?"

They had no answers for him, they had no ideas to begin with. Junko had always been a confusing person, even they, the Warriors of Hope who knew her the best, didn't understand her methods or motives sometimes; a lot of the time actually. She was perplexing, bewildering even. She was one that destroyed expectations wherever she could, and turned ideas on their head all the time. She devastated plans on a whim, always in the name of keeping things entertaining. They couldn't even try to understand her, not even Monaca could hope to try.

But before they could even try to think of a reason…

" **Hehehehuu.** "

A very annoying voice cut through the silence like an arrow through the air, and caused all of the children's faces to drop straight into annoyed and irritated. As one, they turned to look at the only corner of the room that had been left unlit and stared at the figure waddling about and gave a frustrated glare at the source of that laugh as they stepped into the light.

They walked on plush like feet that lightly plopped down with a soft pouf their whole body split down the middle with pitch black on their left and a dark-grey, almost black tone on the other. Every step was further emphasized by the thick, golden chain wrapped around their neck, the golden padlock and star shaped charm that hung off of one side, bouncing against their black tie decked out with both a stylized crown and heart emblem on it that hung over their white belly. With one paw, they reached up to adjust the dark gray fedora and the red tipped, white feather trapped in its band, before moving to knock off some of the ashes off of the Cuban cigar that they held in place with their golden teeth, as a ring of smoke wafted forth from their mouth. They gazed upon the kids with a ruby red, jagged eye, the other one covered with an eye patch with a heart shaped decal embroidered on the patch, and chuckled lightly once more.

" **Who's ta say, sweet-cheeks. Who's. Ta.** _ **Say**_ **.** "

* * *

 **Hello everyone, it's me again. Have you missed me? Sorry about how much later this update was then usual, but work decided that I needed to work with it fulltime during the month in anticipation of the holidays, plus I caught a flu two weeks ago on the only days I had off to work on this, and writing wasn't really anything I could do with the sinus headaches flaring up whenever I sat up for long. Still, I managed to finish it before Christmas, so I'm still counting it as a victory.**

 **Happy holidays everyone, and hope that things go well for everyone else out there. This was a long wait coming, so now the question is, what have we learned from this?**

 **See you next month.**


	22. A Scions deal, the new day's Despair

"Okay, run that by me again, I think I must have misheard."

Byakuya Togami couldn't help but scoff at the mastermind for their little act. He knew very well that they had heard him correctly the first time. Most likely this was an attempt to make him upset by using one of his pet peeves against him. They wanted to make him feel agitated to prevent him from making rational decisions and possibly make an agreement or mistake that he'd regret. It was the same strategy he himself preferred when dealing with those of lesser intelligence and standing.

"Don't make me repeat myself, you know very well what I said." The scion insultingly instructed the sad little child that controlled the animatronic bear that stood before him. The mastermind, tilted the bear's head in a mock display of confusion, another factor that irritated the genius millionaire with the cheap acts to make them seem more human to keep the contestants of this game thrown off their game.

"Yeah, I'm aware," they said in response, "but still, I'm surprised that you would come to me with a deal like this. I never would have taken you for the deal making type."

The Togami heir jeered at them in response for daring to assume his personality. "Don't presume you know anything about me, you have none of the credentials to do so. Now, will that be acceptable or not?"

"Okay, okay." They replied with what sounded like a condescending eyeroll, since the bear's eyes clearly couldn't or possibly it could but he couldn't see it with its pitch-black eye. "Don't blow a gasket. I just wanted to be sure."

Straightening the bear up, the mastermind continued in a more professional tone. "Anyway, to answer your question; after that stunt you guys pulled with the infirmary, I won't just open any room just because one of you telling me that I'll get a murder from it. Fool me once, and all that noise."

He figured as much, if it had been that easy, then any of the other morons here could ask for the rooms to be unlocked and then the mastermind would never be able to convince them to commit a murder. If they can't progress, then they would eventually grow stir-crazy and someone would try something. Ether they would convince someone else to act, or they would act themselves to make it so that the others could progress. All it depended on was whatever the next motive they were provided with.

Still, this was a problem. If he couldn't get access to the room he needed, then he wouldn't be able to confirm the truth that he needed to-

" _Although_ ," the bear interrupted his thoughts with a concerning amount of interest, "I _can_ tell you about a way to unlock the rooms."

"…Go on." Byakuya commanded, unable to hide his interest. He knew it was likely a trap, but that didn't mean he was going to let it prevent him from learning all he could.

"Alright, I'm only going to mention it once, but as I told Makoto, the school store has a large assortment of prizes that you can purchase using the Mono-tokens. You with me so far?"

The blond man didn't even try to hide his scoff at that jab at his intelligence. "Don't waste my time. Out with it."

"Alright, sheesh. Mister bossy. Alright, now while you can only unlock new floors from winning class trials, you can use the tokens to unlock locked rooms on those floors. And in some cases, you can upgrade the rooms you've already unlocked."

"I see. And I assume that was where the tire Asahina mentioned came from?" It was the only thing that would make sense. Why would a locker room, especially the girl's locker room, contain the tire from a truck? The only answer he could think of would be for it have been acquired by one of the others through Monokuma.

This was confirmed by Monokuma with a nod. "It is, _however_ , that doesn't mean that I'll make it easy for you to earn. That would defeat the purpose of making them prizes in the first place. That being said, some rooms are vastly more expensive than others, and it can take a long time to grind for even one. Honestly, you'd be better off waiting for someone to kill someone and hoping that it gets unlocked afterward."

That was a good point. With how much time they had to stay in this school, and with how irrational some of the others acted, there was a good chance that the rooms they needed would just be given to them overtime. All it would take would be a short wait for the motive of the week and for one of them to give in to it.

However, Byakuya didn't earn his title as the Ultimate Affluent Progeny by sitting on his rear and waiting for others to do the work for him. He earned his fortune by being the best of the best, he won against the impossible before with nothing but his wits, and he would do so again if he had to.

"I'm assuming the reason you haven't told anyone this information is to make things interesting, correct?" Byakuya questioned almost bored with his own theory, as it had seemingly been the only reason thus far that was consistent with their actions; so, he found it interesting when they laughed it off with a shaking of their head.

"Oh, no. I'd tell that to whomever asked. There's nothing to hide, they just don't think to ask me to explain everything that I have for sale. So, congrats on being the second one to think about asking." He could practically feel the levels of condescending in the bear's tone and it made him feel disgusted that they would dare. However, he made no move to take their bait and continued onward.

"And what exactly would it take to gain the rights to the room in the library?" It was not usually his nature to be this blunt with his questions, but he had a feeling that if he wanted to keep this little meeting of theirs's a secret, then he would have to keep the banter to a minimum. He just hoped that the mastermind would not notice.

Fortunate seemed to favor him thus far, but as the bear stopped to think, he couldn't stop the feeling of concern that they would realize his desire to move this along as soon as possible. As time ticked by and the bear 'hmm'ed excessively long, his teeth started to grind slowly in a mixture of stress and frustration. They were dragging this out on purpose, they had to be. They were trying his patience, trying to get him to break first.

Finally, they spoke an actual word, and he felt his frustration peak into bloody rage. "One thousand-five hundred Mono-tokens, payed in full."

An unbelievable outrage as he had no chance of earning the money himself, not in his usual ways. The plebian method would be to do chores from the chore board like the rest of the riffraff, but those only offer around ten to thirty coins normally, with the most difficult tasks reaching fifty. Even the trial, the only thing that offered more, had rewarded them all a couple hundred and change each. Monokuma had clearly not been kidding when he said that it would be easier to get someone to try and kill in a trial and hope for the best. The grind would take far too long, even if he was willing to do the chores.

He could ask one or more of the others to lend him their assistance, but that was not something he was willing to try. There was no way to trust any of them with such an important task of helping him, nor was there any way he could rely on them not to screw him over when it came time to collect. The bear clearly knew it too, as it laughed at his frustration and took off before he could manage a rebuttal.

To think, this coward hiding behind a toy, no matter how advanced it was, had managed to trap not only the ultimate's of Kibougamine Academy, but also someone of his pedigree. It would be more impressive if it wasn't so embarrassing. Still, as asinine as this whole "Killing game" could be, the heritor of the Togami empire couldn't deny that it was interesting. Not what he would ever deem such a title as "enjoyable" or even what the plebeians refer to as, "fun". But it was certainly interesting.

It almost reminded him of his time making plans to overthrow his half-siblings in the race to earn the prestigious title of "the one true heir" of the family name. Only one of them could earn a title of importance like that, and he was as unwilling to lose then as he was now, even with the much stricter rules and circumstances this game held over him in comparison to the first. He had no interest in letting the others take the lead from him, but he held no illusions in the idea of him winning fair.

Despite how he acted, he knew he was far from untouchable. He wouldn't have stood a chance against his "family" if he hadn't understood his own weaknesses and setbacks at an intimate level, and here was no exception. He was very aware of his humanity, and what that meant for his chances.

That had been the fundamental difference between him and his siblings. Those fools thought themselves as invincible, and thus fell hardest when he upset their illusion of perfection. They thought too much of themselves and could not bounce back from the upset. He had earned the right to be boastful where they had not. The only exception had been his older sister, and she had given up the race in the end and settled to be the Ultimate Secretary; his own secretary no less.

However, he still had a reputation that he needed to live by. He had to make everyone else believe that he was as undeservingly arrogant as his siblings had been to keep back his many enemies he'd made on his rise to the top. That included this so-called mastermind of this game. He needed to keep to their favor for now, without sacrificing his pride of course, and to do that he needed to keep them entertained and trusting in his desire to play this disgusting game.

The others would likely hate him for this, but so what. If he was to defeat the mastermind of this worthless game, he would need to be willing to sacrifice anything and anyone.

'However, first things first,' he thought to himself as he left his room and locked his door, and began heading towards the cafeteria for their regular supper time, 'I need to find a way to make myself a profit in this insane asylum. The only question is _how_.'

This thought would follow him well into the evening, and well past the night time announcement, but come morning, he swore he would have an answer. That was just how he was.

* * *

I watched as Byakuya left his room from my Monokuma with a feeling of frustration, and gratification. An odd mixture to be sure, but that was what I felt. The former was for the obvious reasons, I was pulled from my informative call where I could have learned so much more than I did, just to deal with that pain in the neck with a stick up his rear. I could have learned so much more about the situation outside had he not interrupted me when he did. I swear, I _will_ find a way to suplex him into the ground before this game ends.

But, for now I had to settle for the satisfaction of making him frustrated with my ludicrous price tag for the locked room in the library. It had already been funny to me when he found the room inaccessible, and the vexation he'd experienced. If he had had any less control on his emotions, I'd have sworn he looked more like Mondo then the rich scion he was. And now I got him in a trap made from his own hubris.

There was not a snowball's chance in a volcano that he would be willing to do chores to earn enough coinage to unlock the archive. His pride would never allow it, and he had even less chances of convincing the others to help with how he acted all week. Most of them would rather dunk him in a basket, or maybe even the toilet, then help him out. And because his riches don't translate in here, the odds fall even further from his favor.

However, as much as these thoughts made me giggle with glee filled spite, it did nothing to distract me from the concerning call that he'd interrupted.

To think, those little kids thought I was going to be their "mother". No, wait, that came out wrong. To think that I would try and adopt five kids myself and be so determined to do so that I would be willing to use less then legal means to do so. It was too obvious what those kids had meant by "got a better one" when they said they couldn't find the right lawyer, there was no way I would miss that. But I had always tried my best to stay on the right side of the law, never deviating even when I thought it would be to my benefit. So, to hear I was willing to bend my morals to adopt them was something I never would have considered doing normally.

Just how much had the past me fallen for these little kids? I mean, I sympathized with them a bit when I played through "Ultra Despair Girls" and learned of their pasts and Monaca's manipulations, but that had been tempered by the rage I felt from them murdering innocent people and enslaving kids with mind-control. _The ends justify the means_ , that was the expression I never agreed with, and it was what they had been following in their asinine game of "Demon hunting".

'…Then again, they weren't exactly the same as they were then, were they?' The thought came suddenly, but that didn't stop it from being true. In the game, little miss Towa was the one to use Junko's death to spearhead their desire to build a utopia for kids, and I clearly wasn't dead yet. Plus, she had gotten them so depressed that they tried to commit mutual suicide when the world was already going to hell, whereas here I introduced myself to them well before the Tragedy was even a thing.

In addition to that, I had given them hope in their hopeless situation. It only made sense that they would see me as a savior of sorts and do everything they could to keep my favor, they were still kids after all. They needed love, love that past me must have been willing to give them. It's possible that former me realized what would have happened in the aftermath of them ruining those kid's parent's lives, and sought to be their saving grace by preventing them from being tossed in an orphanage. (S)he might have even fallen into a parental love with them during the long red-taped, and possibly blackmail filled, process.

It was…rather surprising though, that I could love them so much. I mean, I'm okay with kids for the most part, but I've never been one who could keep engaged for too long. After a while, I just want to get away from them, have some time to think by myself, and the longer I have to stay, the shorter I find my temper's fuse. I never snap, I just pull away before then, but it is never easy. I figure that it might change when I have kids of my own, but I had no way to tell.

That was why I was so stunned that the past me was so much more like a parent, so much more willing to care about them for so much longer then I remember being able to. It was so different, so unlike me, yet still like me, that it left my mind boggled.

So, to get away from those thoughts, I turned my attention to the others having their own free time. Today was a bit different then the norm, Makoto was hanging out with Mondo, talking about dogs and motorcycles. Taka and Leon were apparently having some kind of glaring argument, but it was hard to tell whether or not it was over anything serious because they were both waring matching smirks of…I want to say, mutual understanding slash anger? Something like that. Kyoko seemed to be in some kind of discussion with Hiro about something, though if I had to guess it might be over the validity of aliens existing or some of the OOPs artifacts he'd collected over the years. Toko and Hifumi had apparently decided to continue their debate about their passions from the library, though thankfully for the others they had taken up residence in the laundry room for it. Sayaka, Hina, and Sakura were just finishing up their tea in the cafeteria, and were putting away their dishes. Byakuya was alone though, and he was heading off to the library for some late reading, and possibly working to find a way to earn things to his favor.

I did find one thing concerning though, Celeste was currently in the storage room with a nervous Chihiro who was hurriedly stuffing the sleeve of a blue tracksuit into a duffle bag. No doubt, the small boy had gone in to grab the two items for our meet up in half an hour, and she had caught him in the act. Fortunately, it seemed like he was able to convince her that he wasn't up to anything nefarious, and she eventually let him go. Sadly, I could tell she was planning to remember this if anything ever came of it.

I had to be careful to watch that in the future. She was a crafty one, and given the right motivation, she would end up the next blackened. Unlike Byakuya, who was only in this trying to beat me at my own game, she was someone who would fall into temptation if left to her own devices, and was willing to manipulate things and people to win this game. She had already proven this by her proposing a night time rule and her manipulating Hifumi into being her servant using his otaku nature against him.

But, that's a professional gambler for you. Reading people and lying for her advantage, using people for her own gain, and turning her luck around.

Still, even though I knew she was more than her title, it was inevitable that she would give in to the temptations. She was just so afraid of being a nobody, of being normal. It was why she had put so much effort into her persona as Celeste and hiding her former life.

Even her name.

Sadly, that would have to wait. I had a prior date to get to, so after setting the cam up to watch over Makoto and doing the night time announcement, I turned to open the door and made my way over to Monokuma's hidey hole, and began my trek through the vents. It was time for some training with Chihiro.

* * *

"Hi~, How's it going Chi-chan!"

Chihiro jerked into awareness at the sound of his new exercising buddy opening the door to the pool area, her melodious voice accompanied by her crutch tapping the wooden flooring as she hobbled in. He smiled back in return, happy and relieved that she hadn't stood him up. Looking downward, he noticed that she had already changed into her own matching blue tracksuit and she had changed her hair style from the usual messy ponytails in to one big one at the back of her head. It honestly made her seem much more sporty than normal, but the normally baggy clothes didn't do anything to hide her figure, especially in the chest area which she had left partially open to show off the low-cut white tee she likely got from the warehouse. It also showed off the valley of her cleavage and her black bra covering her goods, something he noted with a massive blush as he quickly averted his eyes.

He couldn't help it, he was still a growing teenage male after all.

"I-It's going well, Junko." He replied, desperately hoping that she hadn't noticed his brief glance at her bust. He didn't want to risk angering his first confidant, especially since she knew his dark secret. He had seen how much of a vendetta that girls would hold against perverts in the past from a few early bloomer classmates of his, and he had no intention of suffering the same fate as they had.

Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice his brief moment of weakness as she tossed her own duffle bag to the side and pulled out her E-handbook out. "Good to hear, cause we're gonna be working hard tonight! Come on, you've got a hundred sit-ups to start with."

Chihiro's grin became far more strained at that as his arms ached in response. It hadn't been that long since they had their previous workout after all. Cautiously, he asked her, "C-Couldn't we start a bit lighter?"

"Now, why would you want to do a silly thing like that?" She asked in response as she swiped the electronic pocketbook over the reader to temporarily unlock the door to the girl's locker room, her smile becoming more joking as she did so. "If your gonna become as diesel as someone like Sakura or Mondo, or even just as fit as I am…was…then you've got to push your limits every chance you can."

There was brief pause as she corrected herself, and he could see her eyes momentarily become melancholier, but they returned to their excited expression just as quickly. That look made Chihiro feel a bit sad himself, to see her so depressed and hiding it. She was likely only trying to hide it to make him feel better, to keep him from feeling as bad over his insecurities. It was honestly sweet of her to consider his feelings like this, but it also made him feel more self-conscious as well.

He liked that she cared for him so much, but it made him feel like she was pitying him. He knew that it wasn't the case, but that didn't stop his mind from unwillingly going in that direction. He hated that about himself, among the other weaknesses he had. He always felt like such a burden, a weight dragging people down.

"I'm sorr-" He started to apologize, but he was interrupted when Junko flicked him on the forehead. While he was busy rubbing the spot she'd hit, she looked back to him with a look that screamed annoyance.

"Okay, first thing I want you to do if we're going to make this work is, you've gotta stop apologizing for everything; especially when you aren't at fault." While he was stuttering out another apology, she stopped him when she reached out and grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the locker room. The suddenness of the action caught him completely flatfooted and left him clumsily trying to regain balance as the fashionista closed the door behind her and turned to him with a raised palm. "I understand that you've got a lot of issues, and that you like to be polite, but it's infuriating to watch you saying sorry for things that aren't your fault."

"I'm sorry." It was all he could say in response, but he flinched back when she groaned back in response, her hand slapping her face in annoyance.

"See, that's what I mean. It's not your fault you're like that, I understand that, and I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing to be so kind." She removed her hand and pointed to him dramatically, her hand making a quick whoosh sound as it displaced the air. "However, if you keep doing that, then one day someone will come along and take advantage of you. You need to be willing to stand your ground at times."

Chihiro nodded softly, and looked away anyway. "I-I know. I'm not trying to be so weak, b-but I can't help it. I-I'm sorry."

She merely sighed in response before looking at him again and saying with a concerned look in her eyes, "I know, but that's why we're doing this, right? To give you a reason to say, "I'm not weak!", right?"

"R-Right." He nodded along, a small smile gracing his lips as he agreed. That was something he would like, to no longer have to call himself a weakling and to be able to stand up for himself.

"Then the only thing we can do for now is to see if we can get you some strength to back up that resolve." She smiled back at him as she said this, her grin filled with so much compassion and resolve that he felt his cheeks light up a little as he nodded in response. It felt good to hear her say that she supported him so much. It made everything feel that much better.

"…And the best way to start is with a good workout! So, come on, let's get started on those sit-ups!" Chihiro could feel a shiver run down his spine at the sinister grin that came to her face, but he swallowed his trepidation anyway. After all, it couldn't be that bad.

Right?

* * *

"I hate you…I hate you so much right now."

"That's the spirit!" Junko gleefully replied in response to Chihiro's glare from where he lay on the ground, clearly having an absolute blast seeing him looking angrily at her as sweat poured down his face and his face red as a tomato. He had a feeling that the pout on his face didn't do him any favors either, nor the panting that interrupted his every attempt to look intimidating. Though, to be fair, she was just as sweaty, but the grin of absolute amusement on her face prevented any sympathy from him.

It hadn't even been that much into the exercise either, just around eighty or so, but he hadn't been able to get any further without feeling like his stomach was about to explode and his back aching. His abs hurt so much, his chest as well burned from his lungs and heart working so hard to keep him going. His back even hurt a bit from laying on the floor for so long, even despite the soft mats that covered the area he had been laying on.

Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to blame it all on his partner, he knew he reasonably couldn't. She had been nothing but supportive, making sure he only did ten reps before switching with him on the floor, and holding his legs to prevent him from just falling back and hitting his head. Plus, he had sort of asked for this when he agreed to meet up for their workout session, so it would be rather hypocritical of him to be too mad at her for something he knew he had agreed to.

Still, it didn't stop him from feeling a tad bit vexed either way.

"Aw, don't give me that scary look." She told him in a deliberately unconcerned manor, clearly unfazed in the slightest at his glare. "I could have made you do the full thing after all. Or maybe you would like to continue?"

The way her smile dropped at the end there filed him with a feeling of dread and terror that made him leaned back and wave his hands in nervous denial. "N-No, no! T-That's fine. Thank you."

For a brief moment, her face stayed the same. The same dark, yet serious expression covered her face as she stared into his eyes, the glare filling him with absolute terror, a primal instinct from deep within himself that made him want to turn away and run. However, he was frozen in place, unable to pull out of those deep blue eyes of hers as they held him in place. It was like he was a mouse, staring into the eyes of a cat just playing with him before his imminent demise. That analogy only became more pronounced and prominent when her expression started to melt away as her cheeks puffed up from restrained laughter.

"Oh geez, you really take me too seriously." She giggled with light mirth. "I'm not _that_ heartless. Come on."

Chihiro took a moment to digest the sudden shift in tone even as she continued to laugh at her own sarcasm, but eventually he couldn't help but slowly give in to the laughter a chuckled along with her. For a short while, they sat there laughing at nothing before it ultimately petered out and left them in a comfortable silence. For a moment, that was the only thing they needed. But as time passed, Chihiro couldn't help but turn and look at her in bewilderment.

It only just occurred to him, but he had no idea who she was as a person. He knew a little, like she was a model, and from their chat earlier that she had a sister and was very intelligent, but he didn't know her very much at all. Like right now when he completely misunderstood her humor. He knew nothing about her, her past, her likes, her dislikes, or anything of the sort. She already knew his secret and had even gone out of her way to help him, but he had made no effort to return the gesture.

It…it didn't feel right. It felt like he was almost…using her in some ways. That was just like the bullies at his old school, using others without any concern for the people they used.

And that just made him feel like a scumbag.

So, in order to alleviate some of that feeling, he turn back to her to ask her something. Anything would work, even something dumb and irrelevant like asking about the weather would work. Anything at all.

"…"

Yet, his mind was blank. He couldn't think about any topics of discussion, and whenever the words started to come to mind, they became muddled as they tried to leave his mouth. Again, he had his own fears holding him back, his own hubris preventing him from reacting as he wanted. Sadly though, he didn't want to risk offending her. He was just afraid of making her an enemy.

He shook his head. No, that wasn't it. She was a friend after all, she wouldn't do anything like that. But he didn't want to offend her or make her regret helping him out in his dream of overcoming his weaknesses. Yet, at the same time, he didn't want to make her feel like he wasn't interested in her for anything besides what she could do for him. That would be horrible. So, he took a breath and gathered up his courage before turning to ask his friend…

"So, Chihiro. There's something I've been wondering." Only to be cut short when she turned to him and spoke. With the wind significantly removed from his sails, all he was able to do was sputter out a go ahead. "Okay, I got to know. What got you to want to be stronger anyway?"

Chihiro froze, his heart clenched in his chest. Unfortunately, because of him freezing like this she was able to continue. "I mean, yeah, I can understand wanting to improve yourself, and not being too sure about your health and things like that, but those feel a bit too…I dunno, basic? Straightforward? Maybe primitive? Something or another, but it doesn't seem like it's the reason you want. Now, I know this might be a bit presumptuous of me to ask you this, so please tell me if I'm asking too much, but what started all of this?"

His blood felt like ice in his veins, his hands were clammy and cold. He could feel like his body, once heated and exhausted from working out, now was like he'd been dumped in ice-water and it left him shivering. That fear of saying the truth to her, of the memories that tormented him every time he let his guard down, it clawed at his soul, and made him feel like he was going to be attacked, sliced to ribbons for even daring to think about speaking about that horrible time-

"Hey. Hey! Chihiro!" He was cut away from his thoughts when a hand roughly grabbed his shoulder and jostled him a bit. His eyes snapped over to the girl who spoke his name with such concern that he couldn't help but feel startled. Her gaze bore into him, her eyes full of worry for him as she held his shivering shoulder. "Easy there. You zoned out on me for a moment. You okay?"

Was he okay? No, of course not. He was anything but _okay_. He would never be okay if this kept happening every time someone brought up his past. "I'm s-sorry. I don't…I-I can't…"

"No, no. It's fine." She interrupted with wave of her free hand. "I shouldn't have asked so soon. We barely know each other and it's clearly a sensitive topic. I was being too impatient and insensitive. I'm sorry."

She was the one who was sorry? He was the one who had been unable to talk and she was the one apologizing? It wasn't because she was wrong in doing so, but the fact that she had picked up on his distress so quickly that stunned him so. He wasn't able to respond properly because of his shock when she stood up with her crutch and turned away. She didn't say anything as she started limping away, her free hand waving back at him in farewell.

He knew he couldn't let her go just yet. He didn't know if it was intuition, or instinct, or maybe it was experience that he couldn't quite remember properly, but somewhere in his mind he knew that if he were to let her walk away now without a word that he would regret it for years to come. So, with a quick shake of the head to clear the cobwebs, he called out with a surprisingly loud voice.

"Wait!" He caught both her and himself off guard with how loud he had been, but when she turned back to look at him he knew that it was do or die. If he didn't speak up now, he never would. "I-I know I'm not ready to talk about it right now, but I…I want to change. No, I _need_ to change. I can't say why right now, but when I think about it, I know that if I don't do something, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. S-So…"

He had to take a quick breath to steal his nerves, but he still pressed on with eyes clenched and shaking hands. "I don't want to leave things the way they are, but I can't say why just yet. So, p-please. Please be patient w-with me, a-and I promise, I'll tell you later…why I'm like this, a-and why I want to be able to stand up for myself…and accept who I am."

He swallowed noisily, his throat suddenly felt really dry and scratchy like he had just tried to eat sand and he could feel the far to common touch of moister rolling down his cheeks, but he also felt somewhat relieved that he was able to say that. It felt like he had taken an important step in improving himself, even when he stumbled as he did so. Now he had to keep making these kinds of steps to improve himself, and eventually he might just improve as much as he wanted to.

This feeling only continued to grow when he looked up and saw Junko smiling back at him and she said, "Sure! I'll be waiting for that day. No need to rush. Just don't keep me waiting too long though. After all, it's not polite to keep a girl waiting, ya know?"

She stuck her tongue out playfully and winked, and he had not seen that he might have mistaken her for being cross with him again. Still, he couldn't help but smile back a bit before wiping his eyes and nodding back at her, happy that he hadn't made her upset with his refusal to speak of his past.

They parted with a promise to meet again the next night to continue where they left off, and return to their rooms to rest. Chihiro struggled to get in his bed, the soreness of his muscles catching up with him now that he wasn't focused on other things, but he couldn't deny that he felt sort of accomplished with himself because of it. He had made strides to make himself better, he had managed to make a promise to improve and even made himself a goal to tell his friend about the events that led to him living a lie. It didn't sound like a whole lot to him if he was honest, but even this much felt like a real improvement over who he was at the start of this terrible game of Monokuma's.

Before she told him that she had learned of the truth, he never would have considered even trying to improve had she not gotten him started. He would have continued to hesitate and stewed in his fears and insecurities, unable to even attempt to improve himself, and he would have continued down that terrible spiral down the depressing path he had lived in thus far until eventually giving up entirely. He would have been snuffed out, his heart becoming a void of self-destruction from which there was no return.

He shook his head at the thought. Okay, maybe that was a bit too far. He likely would have just stayed in a dress until they eventually got out of here and gone to collage somewhere out of state where no one would learn of his crossdressing phase. He might even eventually have grown to continue doing so after. Either way, despite it only being a day, he felt like he had improved a bit thanks to Junko. He would have to find a way to pay her back in some way.

"…Wait a minute." He spoke aloud as he suddenly sat upright with realization in his eyes. "I forgot to ask her about herself."

It was bizarre, he had been trying to ask her about her history, or anything really about herself, and she had gone and distracted him with talk of his past. Had she somehow known that he was going ask and cut him off when he went to ask. Was he that predictable, or was she really that perceptive? It was so shocking that he was left speechless at the thought.

' _She really is amazing.'_

* * *

" _Good morning everyone! The time is now seven oh' clock. Get ready for another beautiful day!_ "

The morning announcement came and went, and everyone headed toward the dining hall. Per the norm, most were gathered by the thirty minute mark, the only exceptions being the two stuck in a wheelchair, their agreed upon escorts, and surprisingly enough, both Byakuya and Junko. It didn't take much to understand the first four people, it took more time to wait for the two injured parties to get changed considering their conditions, and with Leon being in charge of Sayaka's movement, and Sakura volunteering to help Hiro in his own, of course they would have to wait. Junko was also understandable since she was left to hobble on a crutch on her own. Still…

"I wonder what's keeping Byakuya?" Hina asked, her head resting on her hand propped up on the table as she stared at the door, wondering what the scion was doing that would be holding him up for so long. There were a few nods of agreement from the others, each of them feeling a bit irritated that they were being made to wait on the tarty boy. Even Toko, who almost always was the last one through the door, had come in roughly on time and nervously sat off to the side at one of the smaller tables waiting like the others.

"Yeah, that's not like him." Chihiro chimed in her own confirmation as she worriedly glanced at the door. "He's not usually this late."

"Well, if he doesn't show up soon, I'm gonna be real fucking pissed." Mondo angrily quipped, his feet resting on the table as he leaned back precariously. "It's bad enough that we gotta wait for the others to get up, but waiting for him as well is a god damn pain in the ass."

Taka, ever so eager to play mediator, was quick to defend the missing member of their group. "Worry not! I have no doubt that Byakuya is already on his way as we speak."

"He better." Mondo growled as he switched legs to keep them from falling asleep. A few of the others close to him subtly scooted away from him just in case he lashed out.

"Um, do you think that…?" Hifumi started to ask, but he quickly cut himself off with a nervous shake of his head. "No, no. That's not possible."

Whatever it was that he was trying to say, it was clear that the thought was making him jumpy. His hands shook and he turned his attention away from the door with the intention of ignoring its presence. Unfortunately for him, that only made the other students curious.

"Hmm? What is it Hifumi?" Asked Makoto, his gaze locked on the fear filled eyes of the otaku with concern, but neither one could say anything because the impatience of the biker next to him. "Come on man, if ya got something to say, spit it out!"

The ultimate fan shook under the evil glare of the gang leader. It was clear that the prolonged wait for the first meal of the day was affecting the rider very negatively, leaving him a bit snappier then normal. Hifumi understood that feeling as well, his own stomach had been gurgling in hunger for a while now as well. "W-Well, um. What if he's been…well, _you know_."

The way he said it more than painted dark picture that none of them needed context for. With the situation as it was, they knew full well he was assuming that the rich boy had been killed. The very thought sent a chill rushing down most of their spines, and caused their hearts to momentarily leap into their throats.

"D-Don't be ridiculous!" Taka quickly denounced the idea, but there was a thick bead of sweat rolling down his forehead that betrayed his worry. "There has been no reason for anyone to even attempt anything of the sort!"

"Y-You say that, but y-your still sweating l-like a sow in the sun." Toko unhelpfully pointed out. Taka, however was clearly unfazed as he replied with his own comment, "There is no need to worry! Let us go find him post haste!"

"W-We should." Makoto agreed, concerned for the fate of their comrade. There was a growl from Mondo as he forced himself to stand up, but it was generally silence from the whole student body as they got up and headed out the door. However, just as they crossed the threshold into the main hall to discuss how they were going to split up to search, they were caught by surprise by the person just about to head in.

"Huh? Whoa, hold on, where's the fire?" Junko asked with a raised brow and a brief widening of her eyes. "What happened to the meeting?"

"Junko." Chihiro was the first to react to her presence, but she was quickly overshadowed by Mondo. "Meetings been canceled. Byakuya never showed up so we've got to go find his dumb ass."

The others expected several kinds of reactions for this news. Shock at their fellow captive for suddenly up and vanishing, maybe relief since he hadn't exactly been the most enjoyable person to be around. They would have even anticipated her reacting with fear at the possibility of another attempt of murder happening. But even then, they never expected an outright groan of exasperation.

"Seriously? That punk. God damnit. He's _still_ in there?" her free hand rose to meet her face in exasperation and frustration to the other's confusion. A thought bubbled to the surface of their minds as she moved to pinching the bridge of her nose, but it would be Taka who asked.

"Miss Enoshima, are you saying you know where Byakuya has been this whole time?" She looked up from her ministrations to look at him with an expression that could only be described of as, frustration.

"Yep." She confirmed with an exasperated sigh as she adjusted her crutch a bit. "He's probably still upstairs in the library reading."

There were only a few who raised their eyebrows at the news as Hina asked with a tilt of her head, "Huh? Why would he be up there?"

Junko had no real answer, only a shrug of her shoulders and a reply of, "Dunno. I didn't bother to ask when I saw him."

"Why ever not?" Taka asked in response, his brows furrowed and his fist rose up dramatically as he did. "It is imperative that we all gather together for the morning meeting so as to stand united against our common foe!"

Junko sighed irritably at his remark, though it didn't seem as if Taka noticed. Still, she responded anyway. "You don't need to tell me that, I'm not the one who blew it off. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't have listened to me if I told him anyway, so I didn't bother. If you want to get him though, be my guest."

"I will do just that!" Taka agreed, completely missing the disregard in the girl's voice. He quickly began walking past her, equally overlooking the look of pity she gave him in the process. Mondo, Celeste, and Toko followed after him, the first grumbling about how he would, "Give that punk of piece of my mind." The two girls following were completely silent as they trekked after. Hifumi hesitated for a second, but he followed as well, just to make sure that his favorite tsun-princess was where he could be ready for her next command. As they left, Junko quickly turned back to the others with a look that said how much faith she had in his success.

"You guys should probably go too. I've got a feeling he's going to need the help." The wasn't a single one of them that doubted it. With the way both Byakuya and Taka did things, the both unwilling to back down, there was not a chance of the moral compass convincing the scion to do anything he didn't want to.

Still, there was a concern that Kyoko decided to address for everyone. "It would be best if someone were to wait for the others. They'll likely want to be informed about what's going on."

"On it." Junko quickly volunteered, her free arm lazily raised as she just as tiredly made her claim. "I'll just slow you guys down as I am anyway. I'll make sure the others know what's up."

There was a nod from Kyoko in response, but Chihiro looked worried about their friend. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, no worries." She waved off his concern both figuratively and physically, her hand finally dropping down to her side right afterward. "I'm a big girl. I can totally handle it."

Chihiro wanted to believe it, he wanted to have confidence in her words. Yet, she couldn't stop her gaze from wandering down to glance at the fashionista's crutch and her limp leg. He couldn't help but feel worried about her, she was still injured after all and it was clear that she was still tired from their late night meet up. Just because he knew full well that she was capable of traversing the school by herself, didn't mean he was able to convince himself that she would be fine alone while Monokuma still roamed the halls.

Though, now that she thought about it, their two-toned captor hadn't been seen much of since yesterday. There was obviously the morning and night time announcements, but those could be prerecorded messages for all they knew. Plus, there was a feeling of distance there that was brought from him making announcements compared to being up in their face. Unfortunately, that only made that feeling of worry intensify that much more. There was no telling what he was plotting behind their backs, waiting in the wings to strike once their guards were down. But before he could say anything about the matter, Makoto spoke up with his own concerns.

"Hold on Junko. I think one of us should go with you." There was a lot of worry in his tone for his friend, concerned for her safety in being left alone. But, he felt it was warranted. While he had his doubts about anyone actually killing anyone, especially after everything that had happened over the course of the trial two days ago, there was no telling what Monokuma would do to her if she were left on her own. Yes, the mad-man controlling it clearly stated that he wouldn't get involved unless they broke a rule, but she had already gone and done that and he'd been hounding her ever since. Given the evidence, Makoto felt it only fair to worry about her safety.

Thankfully, it seemed that the others agreed with him as Hina swiftly took over. "I got this! I'll go with her. Besides, I'm sure Sakura would like the help with Hiro anyway."

While Chihiro and Makoto smiled in appreciation for the swimmer's quick thinking, but Junko seemed reluctant. "I don't know. You sure you want to come along? I'm not going to be able to move that quick, ya know. Why not just go with the others?"

"Don't worry!" Hina quickly shot down her inquiry with a determined pumping of her arms. "I won't push you any, and if you need it, I can even give you a piggyback ride!"

"That still feels like pushing." Junko deadpanned as a large bead of sweat on her head.

"Still, it would be for the best." Kyoko stated as she looked on, her arms crossed again as she thought to herself. "With Monokuma's threat of moving anyone found alone in the school where ever he deems fit, it would be a potentially grave error."

Junko didn't look convinced, in fact, if the amnesiac girl was to say anything, it seemed like the model found the very idea laughable at best, and unlikely at worst. Yet the expression faded into a smile so quickly that it almost like they never existed in the first place. "Well, that's fine then. If that's what you want to do, then I won't stop you."

While the others were quick to agree, but Kyoko was still suspicious. There was something wrong with how quickly Junko gave in, something about that one split second of lackadaisical attitude towards the threat Monokuma possessed towards her own safety bothered the purple themed albino. It was almost as if the fact that he had crippled her leg didn't even register beyond the heavy limp she had. There wasn't even a hint of fear in spite of the trauma she endured. Add in the other strange moments that were starting to crop up and it wasn't painting the model in a good light.

It only got worst from there. Something had clearly happened between the time the trial and their waking the next day. It was possible that something had happened between her and their captor that resulted in these new character traits, or possibly something else along those lines. Maybe she even went out of her way to possible make a deal with the mastermind.

She narrowed her eyes on the girl as she and Hina started heading back to the dorms, the rest of the gang beginning to follow after the others headed off to check on Byakuya. There was something going on here with that girl, something strange that bordered on dubious. Junko was becoming far more bizarre with every other interaction these past two days, to the point where she might be completely untrustworthy.

But then why was he so spiteful against the model to only give her a single crutch to move with. It would be too bizarre to do such thing since it only drew attention to the blond. There would be no point in making a deal if she was going to be so vocal and attention grabbing, the same with targeting her with vindictiveness. It only made the idea feel so much more ludicrous.

Furthermore, how did she know that Byakuya was in the library? Even if she discounted the crippled leg, making such a trek to the second floor extremely difficult, it would have only made some sense for her to know this if she had been coming from the direction of the exit to the school itself. However, Junko had been coming from the dorms side when they almost ran into her, not the exit. While it was possible that she had gone back to her dorm for one reason or another, the simple fact that she would even have to was difficult to believe considering how meticulous she had seemed.

There wasn't enough to prove anything though. As much as that would make things easier to blindly aim her suspicions on the model, there wasn't enough to prove anything beyond her own speculations. People were strange and unpredictable creatures at times, each and every one reacted to situations differently after all. It was very possible that she was just misreading the fashionista's actions for something more nefarious then they were. So, while her actions were quite suspect, they didn't say only one possibility existed just yet. As long as there remained a shadow of a doubt, there wasn't anything Kyoko could willing say to prove the girl's guilt or innocence.

Still, she had no intention of letting this go completely. She would be keeping a close eye on the blond for now, and when she found something that could prove Junko's innocence or guilt, one way or another, she would confront her and find the truth.

* * *

 **Hello everyone. Doing well?**

 **Yes, sadly this ended up being a mostly nothing chapter, a few tidbits that needed to be seen, but mostly nothing major.**

 **Or maybe it was important? Turns out that I might not be as good an actor as I think I am. Our Detective is seeing things that might get me in trouble soon. Plus, now we got something going on with our resident rich kid. Only so much longer before things go wrong.**

 **Only a matter of time.**


	23. Siblings Despair, an heirs target

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

If there was one thing Mukuro had to admit that she somewhat hated, it was complete silence like what she was experiencing right now. In her profession, silence was almost always a bad sign. In the wilderness, it was a sign that there was a major problem. Animals were very perceptive, so when things were well, there was a cornucopia of animal songs, but they hid and went silent when they felt danger was near. In the city, things were mostly always well when the sounds of cars rushing by and the barks and hisses of stray dogs and cats. Rural areas all over were mostly a blend of the two, almost never silent completely.

There was never a good sign to come from silence. Silence was always a sign of things being wrong. It was unsettling, unnatural, and if she was being honest with herself, it made her feel on edge. Sound was a form of stimulant, a way to tell things were well. That was one of the reasons why interrogations were held in soundproof rooms. It was to unsettle the target with their own thoughts running wild without a thing to distract them.

There was a reason Junko had gone out of her way to convince the headmaster to allow them to soundproof the dorm rooms. The reason she had given was simple, to prevent them from bothering each other with the various occasionally noisy hobbies they employed, and to keep them all from freaking out from the sounds coming from the outside world. It was so simple but it was so effective, and it was also true. Leon and Sayaka had their musical tastes and could be quite noisy, plus the sound from Sakura and Hina's work out routines had an…interesting side effect on the males who had to hear it, while the same happened to the girls when hearing Mondo and Taka's. Even Chihiro's more reserved talent tended to be surprisingly irritating for anyone who ended up having to listen to her for too long.

Plus, there were health benefits that came from silence for a while. It allowed the mind time to wind down and relax, giving way to better internalization of the days that passed by. It hadn't taken much to convince the elder of the two Kirigiri to make the change after that.

But the real reason was to make them paranoid when the killing game began. No one could hear you scream, and that meant that no one would be able to come save you. If you needed saving, you would be completely screwed. The event with Sayaka proved that.

It was Junko's intent to use this to their advantage before the plan suddenly changed. Mukuro was going to go into one of the rooms and take out one of their classmates in their own room where no one could hear things going on and steal their key. With no one able to enter the rooms, they could freely take their time afterward to drive them insane with fear and worry.

Their plan had been simple, easy, and even she thought it would be fool proof, but then things changed and the whole thing fell apart. Mukuro messed up and Junko had to change the plan. Because of that, she had nearly died for breaking the rules.

Her hands clenched her sheets at the thought and she bit her lower lip in frustration. She hadn't meant to screw up the plan so badly, she had just done what she thought she had been asked, what she had always been told to do. She honestly thought she had been doing the right thing, but Junko clearly thought otherwise.

This was why her sister thought of her as a failure, a wash out, a pathetic flat-chested little girl. She was always disappointing her blond dyed sibling's lofty expectations, always off the mark when it came to orders. No matter what she did, it was never good enough for her despair loving sister.

But, she couldn't say she didn't deserve it. She was a the one that messed up, she knew that now. Junko was right to be upset with her, she _had_ messed up, she _had_ misinterpreted her orders, _she_ was the one that screwed up and deserved to be punished. Junko had only done what she had to save the plan, and her, even though the soldier didn't deserve it.

Yes, that was right. She didn't deserve her sister's mercy. She was the one who messed up the orders, not her sister. She was a failure as a sister, and as a soldier. She was the one who betrayed Junko.

That was why she pretended to sleep when Junko had returned from saving her position among the others, and why she ignored the feeling of her sister's eyes on her as she went back out after the night time announcement and returned. She knew that her sister could tell that she wasn't actually sleeping, her analytical talent made faking it impossible. Yet, Junko did nothing, said nothing. That was something that could only mean she was unbelievably furious.

Junko was not one to be silent when she was upset. She preferred to state her opinion very openly, insulting and degrading whoever it was that insulted her, and using her analytical skills to find the cracks in their person to utterly destroy them. She was loud, ruthless, proud, and absolutely loved to ruin those dumb enough to mess with her. She was never silent, dismissive, or even stewed in her anger.

That was the other reason that Mukuro hated the quiet. If Junko was silent, then things could only be bad. That meant that she was likely plotting to destroy something in someone's life; most likely the soldiers own. True, Junko said she was more valuable alive then dead, but that was only as long as she was useful to the despair lover's plans. However, there were no doubts that she would suffer for her misdemeanor, of that she was certain.

Junko wouldn't kill her, not yet, but that option would only wait for so long. Her younger twin was obsessed with despair, thrived in it even. And the opportunity to kill her was completely too tempting for such a terrible addiction. The idea of murdering her own sister would only be the cause of incredible despair. That temptation would be very difficult for the strawberry blond to restrain against giving into.

The silence was deafening, it made it difficult to focus. It made the large room feel claustrophobic and stifling, like a huge weight was wrapped tightly around her chest and restricting her breathing. It was only her training as a soldier and her own natural ability to repress unwanted emotions that kept her from feeling paranoid and terrified. She had been born with this gift, and it had been refined from her time in Fenrir, and it was solely because of that that she could keep her imminent demise from haunting her until she became as much of a paranoid loon as Yasuhiro tended to be.

Still, she couldn't help but try and feel…restless was possibly the right term for this. Even though she knew she needed to rest and recover, and that it was impossible with the damage done to her leg, but she really wanted to get up and put on her combat boots and run a few laps around the school. It was only the fact that it was impossible and that Junko would likely kill her for exposing herself regardless that kept her from doing so.

However, that didn't stop her from feeling twitchy. She felt like jumping up and doing something, even just a basic workout would do. A simple five hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and maybe a few couple hundred non-leg required exercises. However, that would require that she get up and endure the pain in her leg.

Even now, the whole thing hurt. When Junko had been dressing it, she had seen the way the skin had become swollen and enflamed, the way the black threats weaved in and out of the flesh with the blood staining the white cloth of the compress pad. Even though, she wanted to move around, she knew she couldn't with how fresh the injury was. But the pain was the worst, even moving it a little caused the whole thing to spike with pain, though even being still hurt quite a bit. That was why she needed medicine to counteract it.

'That's right.' She thought to herself as she looked over at the counter where a small orange bottle with a white cap.

A bottle of pain killers, though that was under selling it considering it was one of the remaining special medicines made by the former Ultimate Pharmacist, Seiko Kimura. After the girl had been expelled from Hopes Peak, the school had confiscated nearly all of her medicines, supplements, and formulas. Most of them were kept at the newer campus, but quite a few of the more impressive ones had ended up here at the old campus shortly before the Tragedy along with numerous other chemicals and proteins. Obviously, Junko took great enjoyment in that since that meant more options for murders.

In this case though, it was supposedly a special brand of pain killer that also reduced swelling while also boosting the hormones and cells associated with both muscle fiber repair and growth. This would supposedly make things much easier for her to get back on her feet and back in action in record time.

However, the fact that she was given this by _Junko_ made things iffy. There was a very real fact that swallowing one of these could end up being the cause of her death just as likely that it could help her. Mukuro wanted to eat one of them to help alleviate the pain, she really desired that, but the very real chance that it could easily poison her made her apprehensive. It was so hard to know if it was safe or not.

It only got more difficult since Junko hadn't actually handed it to her. She had just dropped it off that morning on the way to the cafeteria without a word and faked a limp off. The only reason Mukuro had any idea of what was in the bottle was because there had been a small note placed next to it claiming that it was for her pain so that she would be able to sleep along with the list of what other benefits it supposedly held. Considering the fact that the only other kind of pain med in the school was over the counter items, it had to have come from the medical cabinet in the chemical lab; of which only Junko could go at this point in time.

Poisoning her, while extreme, wasn't out of Junko's favored way ways of ending a problem. Even though she preferred to have others do it for her to see the look on their face when they fell into despair, the fashion model was far from unwilling to dirty her own hands. Hell, if anything she loved to try and come up with more bazar and twisted ways for people to die from. Poison was just one of those, and Mukuro could distinctly remember at least one conversation about how to do it secret while framing someone else.

That certainly wasn't helping her decision.

However, Junko wasn't willing to throw away potential pawns easily. Killing her now would mean that she would lose the only person willing to follow her. From a tactical stand point, this was far from a smart decision.

Yet, Junko wasn't the most logical person. She was unbelievably intelligent, but that would tend to give way for her illogical obsessions.

Bottom line, there was no way to know if this small bottle would help her or get her killed. Junko was far too unpredictable to trust one avenue over another. The only real option she had was to ignore the blasted thing.

Unfortunately, even that option was difficult to consider since the agony in her leg was unbearably high. Even without considering her very low tolerance for pain, or her masochistic thrill for being hurt by someone she loves, she still couldn't withstand the everlasting ache for much longer. She already lost most of the last night's sleep because of the fire in her limb rising whenever she so much as twitched the previously punctured limb, and if she went without some form of relief for much longer, she might just go insane.

So, she was silently sitting there, metaphorically stuck between a rock and a hard place. Does she take a risk in trusting Junko by taking a pill of what could be poison, or does she refuse and attempt to endure the pain and swelling and continue to lose sleep. She had no other options available, and if she did, she couldn't see it.

As she was contemplating the option, just staring at this one little bottle that could potentially help her, she was cut off by the sound of her door unlocking. Her mouth turned downward further, knowing that the only person that could be was her very sibling that she had been thinking about with today's breakfast. However, even as her stomach grumbled at the thought of something to fill it, she didn't want to see Junko right now after all of the contemplations she had about her. So, she pulled the sheets and covers back up and over her head, hoping that her sister wouldn't realize that she was faking sleep.

Listening to the sounds of the room, she heard the door open and the sound of someone hobbling in, undoubtedly Junko. This was only confirmed itself when the hobbled sounds were replaced by normal steps once the door closed and a plastic object smacked up against the plaster of the wall; most likely the crutch she had been faking her limp on. From there the sound was muffled by the soft carpet covering the floor, but for someone trained as she had been, it wasn't too difficult to pick out the soft pitter patter of feet walking and the slight tinkling sounds of ceramic from dishes bumping against each other. These sounds continued until they reached the table next to the bed where the pill bottle sat, and there was a small clatter as something was placed on the wooden furniture.

For a moment, Mukuro continued to listen, waiting for the sound of feet to move away to the secret hatch on the other side of the room. She waited to her the sound of the door open and the sound of metal thunking as Junko dropped down to crawl through the vents before being abruptly cut off by the door closing, leaving her alone in silence once more.

Yet, she heard nothing of the sort. All she heard was the soft sound of her twin's breathing. There was a feeling of eyes on her form that made her hair raise and her skin crawl, but she did her best to control her breathing and pretend to sleep. With any luck, the fashionista wouldn't…

*Thwap*

Mukuro's eyes shot wide open and a scream of pain erupted from her mouth as she grabbed her leg when a spike of pain burst from the limb. Her eyes just as quickly clenched shut as she tried to block out the agony in her leg were Junko's hand still lay from slapping the injury. Her teeth bit deep into her lower lip, not enough to break the skin, and the upper one quivered. With tears running down her cheeks, she forced her eye lids to open to glare vehemently at the completely blank expression on her sister's face.

"You didn't take your medicine." Junko bluntly stated as she picked up the little bottle and gave it a small shake. The contents of the small orange container rattled about like beads in a maraca as the blond dyed girl popped off the lid and withdrew one of the white pills from within. "Don't bother trying to deny it, I know it hasn't moved since I left it here."

Mukuro continued to glare at the uncaring gaze of her younger twin as she held her fist out for her to take the pill within. She really wanted to say no, to deny the blond the satisfaction of seeing her take it. She wanted to slap the hand away without a thought otherwise. However, she knew there would be consequences if she did, one far worst then a simple slap on the leg would be. So, even while desperately wishing otherwise, she reached out with an open hand and excepted the pill.

Taking a moment to look at it, she found herself feeling very concerned that there weren't any identifying markings on it that could tell her what it was. No matter how she turned it under the light of her room, there wasn't any kind of letter, number, or marking of any kind. While she had no experience in recognizing what they would have meant, it would have been a slight relief to know that it had something to tell her it actually was medicine.

Another concerning thing was the size of the darn thing. As it sat in her palm, she compared it to the size of her fingers and found that it was about the size of her thumb up to the first knuckle, and was about as wide. Just the thought of swallowing it made her gag, the image of her dying of affixation from eating this thing whole came to mind. Unfortunately for her, she wouldn't have a choice in the matter.

While she was gagging at the size of pill, Junko had apparently had enough of waiting for her to prepare herself mentally. In one swift move, the younger twin grabbed the wrist of her hand and slapped it over her open mouth, launching the pill straight to the back of her throat. With a cough, her body instinctually swallowed the mammoth pill where it quickly got lodged it her esophagus.

Immediately her hands wrapped around the windpipe, trying to force down the obstruction to little success. Her mouth gasped wildly, trying to intake air but failing to make any headway. As she was breathlessly wheezing, fearful that she would die this way, she caught sight of glass of white liquid in the corner of her sight held daintily in someone's hand, but that was irrelevant at the moment. She quickly snatched the glass and chugged down about half of it in a few big gulps.

Putting down the glass, she tried to keep from coughing the milk she'd chugged back up along with the pill she just barely avoided dying from. She already nearly died from swallowing it once, she didn't want Junko to start forcing her to swallow the damn thing a second time. Speaking of whom, she was a surprised to see her little sister sitting next to her with one hand on the soldier's back, the other one pulling the half empty glass away. Yet, that paled in comparison to what happened next.

"Sorry about that." Junko apologized, of all things, as she put the glass on the table and turned back to look into Mukuro's reddened eyes. "It's just better to swallow it quickly, if you focus on the size of it for too long you'll stop yourself from swallowing. 'Sides, I could have given you the liquid kind, and trust me when I say, that isn't a kind of torture even you deserve."

Junko shuttered with disgust at the thought and Mukuro reluctantly agreed with her on that front. For all the great revolutionary drugs that she had made, the Ultimate Pharmacist never was able to find a way to make her best products taste good. The only kind she could were ones intended for cooking purposes as additives, enhancers, vitamin supplements, and in one case, a very powerful aphrodisiac.

That had been a troubled time for anyone to be part of the seventy-seven class B.

Still, "You could have let me swallow it on my own." Mukuro pointed out with deadpanned tone, to which her sister scoffed.

"Oh please, we both know you would have hid it under your tongue and spat it right in the trash if I didn't force you to eat it." Mukuro internally cringed at the scolding she'd been given, but she couldn't deny it. It wouldn't have been the first time she had done something like that, it was how she was trained when forced to consume something like that. There was always a chance she could have been captured and forced to eat anything from a truth serum to cyanide so the ability to hide such pills under her tongue or in the back of her mouth was one of her lesser known skills that she had to know.

Didn't make it any less embarrassing to have her sister bring it up.

"…Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Junko waved her off, which made Mukuro flinch. Every time she acted nicely, it only meant dreadful things coming up. Even trivial things like this could change for the worst at the drop of a hat.

They were both quiet for a moment, Mukuro tense and mentally preparing for whatever it was Junko was planning for her, and the fashionista silently observing the crippled women with a critical eye. No words were said, just the persistent vail of smothered sound broken by their breathing. Idly the brunette noticed that their breathing was nearly in sync, the only offset was that the blond turned redhead was a split second earlier on her inhales compared to her own.

It wasn't really anything she'd stopped to notice before, but it made sense it a way. Even though they were twins, Junko always was the one to move first compared to her, always moving to the beat of her own drum no matter what anyone else said. She was always the one to take charge of the situation and move on the offensive, where Mukuro preferred to follow orders even before her time as a mercenary.

Thinking about it, that had been the first time she had actually taken her life into her own hands, choosing to throw away her bond with her sister to pursue her own dream. That had been the turning point in the twin's relationship that made Junko really ramp up her attempts to kill the elder twin. The first time Junko sent her a care package that actually made it to her, it had been filled with twenty pounds of C4 and rigged to blow when opened.

That poor delivery man was never the same.

Mukuro resisted the urge to shake her head so as prevent her sister from noticing her brief lapse of focus. It wasn't usually like her to let her mind wander like this, reminiscing on things in the past. Usually she kept her focus on the here and now, not on events that she couldn't change.

Maybe it was a side effect of coming so close to death's door and just barely being pulled away. With her future nearly being taken from her before her time, perhaps her mind decided to focus on the events that had led up to her being in that situation in the first place. There was an expression for it, like her life was flashing before her eyes, or something like that.

Whatever the case, it was still something that she found irritating. She didn't like to focus on the past, it was something she found pointless. The past couldn't be changed, so why would you need to focus on it. Even with the expression saying that you should learn of the past or risk repeating it, there was no point in focusing exclusively on it and forgetting about the current events and the future that comes after.

…She was doing it again.

As she was thinking about this, she noticed Junko turning away finally, her expression looking grim and almost…depressed. It was different from the one she used where mushrooms seemingly grew on her head though, that one was just an act to throw people off. This one looked sincerer.

That…couldn't be. Right? Junko hadn't done anything wrong.

Yeah…that was right. Mukuro was the one who made the mistake. It was her fault. It was always her fault.

"Oh, right!" Junko suddenly interrupted, unintentionally dragging Mukuro from her thoughts, before she then turned to the tray placed on the folding table acting as an end table for her pills. Picking it up, Junko handed her the tray with a smile on her face.

"Here you go, I made us both breakfast. Hope you like it." She cringed slightly at the word 'hope', but that didn't stop the smile on the blond girl's face. It had been almost unnoticeable, but Mukuro knew her how much that one word upset her twin.

However, that was pushed aside when she saw just what Junko had prepared. On the dinner plate before her was a small, somewhat-mishmash of foods, not necessarily all proper breakfast items. On one side was the things that she would expect from a western breakfast, smoked bacon strips, sausage links, and a small cup full of butter for the flapjacks on the other side. Two glasses of milk, one of which she was still holding, had also been part of the arrangement. However, there was one item the stuck out like a sore thumb that was smack dab in the center of the plate.

A hand sized serving of omurice. A rice omelet.

The egg dish that had fluffy, golden eggs carefully wrapped around a small cup of fried rice with a small array of spices, onion, and cubed chicken tenderloin mixed in. Normally, this simple dish would be served as a dinner or lunch meal, though it wasn't like people didn't use it for a breakfast entrée. Mukuro only knew of it through Hifumi since it was something he would insist any of his classmates try who joined him for a meal outside of the school.

Of course, he also dragged them to a maid café when they went to get the dish. That certainly didn't put him in any one of the girl's favor.

However, the thing that made her pause and stare was what lay on top of the fluffy egg. On the small meal was an elaborately made heart with lace shaped against the edges drawn entirely out of ketchup, and in the same condiment made heart was a single word spelt in traditional kanji held within its curly borders.

It said, "Gomenasai".

"I'm sorry…?" the crippled soldier breathed, confused as to the reasoning for this message written in the tomato condiment. When there was movement to her side, she turned her head and bared witness to a sight she never expected to see in her life. Junko, looking honestly remorseful.

"Yeah…" Junko spoke up again when Mukuro hadn't, her tone absolutely miserable. It was so different from what the brunette had expected that it robbed her of her breath. As she tried to question what her sister meant, and failed as a result of her breathlessness, Junko continued.

"I know that I can't make it up to you, but I'm still sorry. I should have known you would interpret my vague orders in such a way." She closed her eyes for a moment, but they opened shortly after filled with so much regret that Mukuro found herself stunned silent. "I should have stayed with the original plan. I mean, you're my sister. There was no reason for me _not_ to figure out how you would take it. So, yeah. Sorry."

Mukuro was flabbergasted, eyes wide and her jaw drooping at what she was hearing. Junko, the self-proclaimed personification of despair itself, whose sole purpose in life was to bring every single person in this forsaken world down onto their knees begging for the embrace of death, who felt untold pleasure at other people's misery, who destroyed entire civilizations for no other reason than because she could, had apologized for essentially crippling her.

That…That just doesn't happen. That wasn't something she did. Junko never apologizes for anything, to anyone, for any reason. Even when it would be advantageous for her, Junko never apologized for anything. If anything, she went out of her way to make it seem like whomever it was she inconvenienced was the one at fault and made them apologize for it in her stead.

"W…What…?" Mukuro tried to speak, to ask what was going on, but she couldn't. This pure unbelievable situation had completely wiped out her ability to think. As if to make things even harder on her, Junko reached over and after moving the tray to the side, she pulled the stunned girl's head close and pressed the brunette's head into her chest. Mukuro stiffened at the contact of her face to her sister's bosom, the sudden embrace was something that had never happened before and it stunned her into stillness. Even when they were kids Junko had never hugged her and thus it made her every sense heighten from dread. Every nerve was alight and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Her heart jumped in a mixture of fear and an unbearable sense of trepidation that jumpstarted her adrenaline and made everything feel like it was moving in slow motion. The scent of her sibling's expensive detergent mixed in with the girl's own natural musk filled her nose as the sound of both of their heartbeats filled her ears.

It was clear though that the blond hadn't been showering recently.

Ignoring that as best as she could, even though her nose crinkled at the stench, Mukuro tried to rationalize what was happening. Her despair loving sibling had apologized, claimed that she had been wrong, made her breakfast, brought her medicine to help her leg recover, and was now holding her in a warm hug as she muttered soft apologies into the soldier's hair. The whole situation was so beyond unnatural and bazar and uncomfortable, it went against everything she had known about her relationship with her sister that even though she wanted to push her twin away…she found her body unresponsive.

There was a feeling of longing to return the embrace with her younger sibling, to pull her closer and continue enjoying the moment. It was a part of her that she honestly had never realized existed, or if she had, it had been buried under her sister's desires and the time she had endured as a mercenary. It had been unneeded, unwanted, undesired by her life and had been left behind as a result.

But now that this had happened that once believed dead feeling had made its return and left her reeling from her conflicting desire to confront her twin on her actions and continue to remain silently enjoying this moment. Her mind was in turmoil, her heart trapped in a maze of uncertainty and love, and she was left lost and confused.

Was this another of her sister's tests of loyalty? Was this a new way to torment her with the desire to be given a reward that Junko would never give? Or was this genuine, an apology for her actions with a desire of repentance. Mukuro didn't know, it was far from what she had ever experienced from her sibling, even beyond the rapidly changing personalities she grew accustomed to over the last year. She was completely lost.

It took an immense amount of effort, far more so then she expected, but she managed to beat down these thoughts. No, Junko had to be testing her. She had to be. Mukuro was the one to screw up the plan, she was the one who made things harder on her sibling because she couldn't resist the urge to kick Monokuma in the face. She had been the one to make her sister have to scramble to save her from her own stupid actions. Junko had nothing to apologize for.

She did.

"No…No, _I'm_ sorry." She managed to mutter into the cloth covered bosom of her sibling before she pulled back just enough to look her sister in her contact colored blue eyes. "You were right. I was the one who misinterpreted your orders. I made you have to punish me for ruining the plan and potentially motivating the others into rebelling against you. I deserved it."

Her heart ached as she said all of this, her pride hating her for saying all of this, but she ruthlessly stomped out these flames of rebellion before they could manifest further. It was the truth, no matter what her heart claimed. No matter what logic her mind tried to use against her belief. She would stand by the truth…

However, Junko continued to confuse her, shaking her head and stating, "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. Even if you screwed up the first plan, I should have come up with a contingency either way. Instead, I just jumped the gun and tried to execute you. I mean, for Pete's sake, I damn near _crippled_ you for life!"

"Maybe," Mukuro agreed with that much, but was not something she would accept Junko taking the blame for. "However, _I_ was the one who deserved it. I ruined your plan and broke your rule. I deserve everything you put me through."

"Even becoming a cripple and potentially losing your claim as the Ultimate Soldier?" Junko rebutted with a steely glare, her hands balling against said brunette's back and nearly drawing a wince from Mukuro. That certainly was something that she hadn't wanted to risk, her title and her usefulness to her sister were the only things she felt she had going for her. Even now, they had been the only things she desired as they made her feel important, useful. Without them, she didn't know what she had.

However, Mukuro stood firm in her loyalty and conviction. "Yes, even then. I want to be by your side, and if I can't, then I want to at least be useful to make your plans come together. If it is want you want, then I'll even give up my life if it'll make you happy."

Junko's glare didn't waver in the slightest to her devotion, if anything, it seemed to harden it further. Yet, Mukuro didn't take her eyes off of her sister's, knowing that if she faltered, that if she gave in and looked away first, then her beloved sister would cast her aside again. She would leave her here to rot for showing weakness, forever a disappointment.

She didn't know how long she and her sibling stared into each other's eyes, both unwavering wills waring for supremacy. A fire had been lit within them both, burning and raging beneath the surface. Both parties wanted nothing more than to prove themselves right, to take the fall for the mistakes made.

Junko's gaze wavered first, a stunning development to Mukuro, and then the blond model turned away with a scoff. "…Fine, if you're going to be a bitch about it, then I guess you can work to fix it."

Mukuro flinched at the venom in her sister's voice, but it did nothing to stop the thankful smile from appearing on her face. "Thank you, Junko."

However, any further words were cut off when Junko's arms left their place on Mukuro's back and grabbed the front of her shirt. "But, if you're so willing to risk everything for me, then don't think for a second that I'm going to let you slack off, got it!? I have no use for a tool, or a sister, that can't follow orders to the letter. Understand?"

Mukuro smiled, happy that her sister still had use for her, even though she had to push down the small voice it the back of her head screaming at her for doing so. "Understood."

Junko huffed as she pushed Mukuro away, turning away with a disappointed look in her eye. "Ugh, now hurry up and eat your breakfast. Be grateful, it was a bitch and a half to get Hina to leave me alone long enough to get it here without arousing suspicion. I'll take care of the plates after lights out, so make sure that you eat it all and put it where I can find it. Got it?"

"Understood." Mukuro confirmed with a nod of her head. "Thank you, Junko."

"Ugh, don't thank me," Junko rebutted in disgust as she grabbed the tray of food again and pushed it into the injured girl's lap. "Just focus on healing for now and I'll do what I can to cover for you till you can walk."

"I will." Mukuro nodded again, happily accepting the tray of food and began to eat. Junko stayed for only a few more minutes, silently judging her decision to accept the blame of her actions, but eventually, she got up and walked towards the door and grabbed the crutch once more. Mukuro could have sworn she heard her twin mutter something along the lines of, "This is going to be harder than I thought." Yet, she shrugged it off without a thought.

It wasn't her place to question Junko's thought process, she didn't have the rights. She was lucky enough to have her sister's love as it was, she wasn't going to push it. If it was necessary for her to know, then Junko would have said something. She had her orders, it was time to follow them.

With that thought in mind, she purposefully ignored the voice of her curiosity and put her finished tray of food to the side. Once that was done, she pulled the sheets back up over her as she laid down, glad that the medicine Junko gave her seemed to work since she no longer felt any pain from her injury. A small smile worked its way onto her face at how thoughtful her sister was, and she settled down to relax and recover.

However, it was it that moment that she realized something. Now that her sister had left, the room had become quiet once more. Too quiet. And she hated the quiet.

…This was going to be a long, stressful recovery, Mukuro could just tell.

* * *

"This is going to be harder than I thought."

I grumbled to myself as I opened the door to the room Mukuro was to recover in, making sure to check that no one was wandering close by before I closed the door, then I proceeded to wander towards the dining hall with a deep scowl on my face.

I wanted to say that I was mad at Mukuro for being so difficult to apologize to. I had spent all of last night trying to think of a way to tell her just how much I hated myself for shish-kabobbing her leg and crippling her potentially for life, and I had thought of numerous ways it would go. Several scenarios had run though my head, most of which ended up with me with either a knife in my neck or a bullet in my head, but I didn't want to believe for a second that she would just up and try and take all of the blame for herself.

Yet, that ended up being the case. Honestly, I could only blame myself for that one. When I had exploded on her the last time we had talked, I had dumped all of the blame on her in my frustration. I just hadn't handled being yelled at very well. It really wasn't something I excel at either way, I'll admit.

However, even though that was on my head, it was also a problem since she was still a victim of Junko's manipulations. With how terrible that blond pain-in-the-neck was, it wasn't hard to imagen that she had done some kind of exploitation on her elder twin to make her more subservient and receptive to taking on the blame when things went wrong. True, that wasn't even all that shocking since a lot of people growing up went through a faze where they blamed others for their problems, some never grew out of it too, but this went well and beyond that because Mukuro was fully under the belief that _she_ was the one in the wrong because I had misguidedly told her so.

But that was wrong, she was the victim in this case, the one who had been wronged in the first place, she should be the one who deserved an apology from me. Yet, she insisted that it was her fault, used the words I hadn't meant to prevent me from taking the blame I deserved. It would have been admirable if it wasn't so stupid.

I honestly wanted to continue the conversation, to keep hammering away at her stubborn denial with the facts until it got through her thick head, but there were some things that stopped me from doing that. The first of which was my realizing my station in this conversation.

It was pretty obvious to me, but it was clear that Junko's relationship with Mukuro was very much an abusive one. Worst still, it was also one where the victim of this abuse misread it as a show of her abuser's expression of love. The ultimate despair had been the only person to stay close to her growing up, or at the least made it seem like she was the only one who ever truly loved the brunette, and made the ultimate soldier dependent on her twin's approval.

One of the best examples of this was her actions in the IF novel. When Junko's plan to kill Mukuro failed because of intervention of the ultimate luckster, Junko threw her twin under the bus and tried to pin the imprisonment of their class on both of them. Even when she fled with and saved Makoto from the injuries he sustained from saving her, even when she challenged her sister and began to defy her, even when she helped the other's escape from the school, even after everything Junko had done to her, she only did it all because she had convinced herself that it would bring Junko the despair that she always yearned for. She saved her friends and potential love interest only out of her love for her twin, not for them or herself.

She was abused, but even if she hated it, she always went back to her sister desperate to be loved. That was the problem I had to deal with right now.

Unfortunately, that wasn't something I could solve easily. Since it was through the hand of the body I currently inhabit that she had become accustomed to, that meant that I had to play that role and slowly work to remove that abusive image from her mind. I had laid the ground work for that, but until she has someone in her life who loves her without the violent tendencies of her sister, it was going to be an uphill battle to repair, or rather start, to heal the scars on her heart.

Unfortunately, I am very much _not_ qualified for that, to say the least. I had only the barest idea of what she needed to recover from years of trauma, and that was all from the rudimentary knowledge I got from my psychology 101 class, and what I learned on the internet. I am far from earning a license in the field, and it wasn't even my major regardless. The sad fact of the matter was, there was nothing I could do for her as long as that belief that I am the one who abused her exists in her cognition of me.

I hate that I would have to be mean to her, but I needed to be to keep her loyalty. So, as much as it made my gut churn, I would be her abusive sister only where necessary until I can rid her of that desire.

The biggest reason for my haste to leave though was that I was on a time crunch. I had to rush to clean up to keep anyone from figuring out that I had gone back to make a second breakfast.

After Hina volunteered to help me retrieve the students that were still in the dorms, we had gone back to get them. That hadn't taken all that long, Sayaka and Leon had just been leaving when we found them so that hadn't been an issue. All it took was a simple, "Byakuya's being Byakuya again, so the others are getting him. Don't wait up." After that, they gave us a nod of understanding and an expression of exasperation, and left for the dining hall with barely a word. The fact that was all that I needed to say for them to figure out the situation was amusing and yet, it was kind of sad.

Regardless, after that brief interaction we had gone over to Yasuhiro's room and got Sakura and Hiro. Again, there hadn't been much of a problem, but apparently the clairvoyant had had some kind of nightmare the night before that had made it difficult to sleep, resulting in him sleeping in. I made a mental note to see if I could find him some sleeping pills as the two other girls begrudgingly helped him up and into his wheelchair. It wouldn't do for one of the people who were able to keep me entertained with his antics to be completely dead on his feet.

After that, we had all headed on our way to the dining hall where most of us waited for the others. Sakura offered to get the others and Hina went with her leaving the rest of us to gossip.

Well, I say that, but we didn't really have much to say. Hiro was completely out of it and kept nodding off, and Sayaka and Leon were still really awkward around each other. Seems that, even after their reconciliation they didn't really know just what to say to each other. The all-star wasn't dumb enough to flirt with the pop idol after that near bush with death he'd experienced, and she still had some baggage about the same affair that made any attempt at conversation die within a few minutes.

In the end, in an effort to keep at least some of my sanity intact from the shear boredom as well as some genuine curiosity, I maneuvered over to the red and blue duo and asked them how they were doing. I should have expected it the moment I tried, but I was quick to learn that neither of them were all that talkative. Leon gave me a clipped, "Fine." Which was more than Sayaka did since all she gave me was a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement before turning away. I felt a bit miffed at that, yet I continued.

"So, any idea what the others are up to?" Leon shrugged at my question while Sayaka adopted a slight thinking pose, but neither said anything. Just as my frustration was about to break through to tell these punks to stop moping about and freaking talk to me, Yasuhiro threw in a small comment, "If I had to guess, I think that Mondo is trying to pound in Byakuya's head for making Chihiro cry, and the others are holding him back. _But,_ I think the others want to hit him as well because he keeps saying something like, " _It's pointless pretending to be friends in a game like this."_ or something like that."

"…?" There was a brief moment of silence as the three of us slowly turn our heads to look at him with various raised brows.

"That was oddly specific." Leon commented, to which the sea-urchin headed man laughed.

"Well, I mean, Byakuya's not really a team player after all, and you _know_ Mondo doesn't like seeing girls cry. Wouldn't be surprised if they started fighting, right?" He was laughing it off without a thought, but I couldn't help but feel impressed.

"Wow, and here I thought Sayaka was the only psychic in this place." I complimented him with one arm moved to support my head. "Ya' know, for someone who acts like a complete idiot, you're surprisingly perceptive."

"Well, it's not like it's some occult mystery or anything." He angerly pointed at me, conveniently overlooking the idiot comment as he did. "Just cuz I was held back three times, doesn't mean I doesn't mean I can't notice things!"

"Whoa, hostile." I deadpanned in response to which Sayaka followed with, "Are you doing okay?"

Hiro cringed suddenly, and to our surprise he then reached up and grabbed his head, groaning. "Sorry 'bout that. It's this stupid headache, it's nothing."

"Headache?" Leon asked, but then his eyes widened with realization. "Oh right, when you hit your head from…"

His voice trailed off as his gaze wandered over to Sayaka's before he cringed at the guilty expression on her face. It didn't even take me that long to realize the same thing they had, his concussion from when Sayaka ran into him with the kitchen knife and caused him to hit his head on the doorframe. He still had a bandage wrapped around his head after all, though I was pretty sure that the wound had scabbed over by this point. Still though, "Wasn't that, like, a couple of days ago? It should have healed up by now."

"Yeah, it has." Hiro replied to my question with a sigh, he even pulled up the bandage to show that, while clearly tender, the once bloody space on the back of his head had almost completely healed already. "But I keep getting headaches every once in a while. Plus, I keep getting these weird visions in my crystal ball that are keeping me up at night trying to figure them out."

"Wait, dude, you seriously have more of those glass balls?" Leon pointed out with a shocked expression on his face. For a second, I thought he was just taking that one thing from the conversation, but I noticed his eyes momentarily flick over to Sayaka and realized he was trying to change the conversation for her sake. It was, honestly kind of admirable, even if I thought she should have to deal with this now rather than later. However, I saw the way he almost begged me with his eyes to help with this, so with an internal sigh I followed his lead.

"Glass balls? You mean those props street fortune tellers use to swindle people with phony fortunes?" I asked with an almost bored tone, not really into the divergence of topic. Leon gave me a slightly tense glare, but it quickly died when Hiro's upset voice cut him off.

"I'll have you know that I am nothing like those fakes your talking about. My fortunes are based on my own unique inspirational stylings, that's why they are far more accurate than anyone else's." He seemed passionate about it, yet it seemed Leon couldn't avoid getting another jab in.

"Says the guy who's only right thirty percent of the time." I shook my head at that. It was a rather small number to be honest, so much so that anyone would doubt it's validity. Yet, Hiro still had a counter for it.

"Well it's not like the future's set-in stone or something, even I can't know everything! Every time I look into the future, it's like looking at a frayed rope. Yeah, I can see the whole rope, but it's got all kinds of strands and stuff splitting off all over the place, and with my ability I can easily find the biggest thread amongst them."

That…was actually kind of profound, in a way. Normally, the few times I'd gotten my fortune read, they would say that, "the future was set in stone" or, "fate was absolute", or such nonsense, and all they would tell me was the kind of vague things you'd find in a cookie. Yet, here was Hiro, the one who would benefit the most by saying such drivel, actively turn such notions down at the door with a promise that the future he saw was only a possibility. It was kind of respectable.

And then he instantly killed that bubble of respect with his next words.

"In fact, I'll prove it. I'll read your fortune right now and tell you all of the possible futures of the next month. I'll even give you a discount package, the first one is one hundred thousand yen, and every other one after will be free! How 'bout that!?" Oh Hiro, why did you have to be such a money grubber? All that ability, wasted on your greedy ass.

"Like hell!" Leon furiously denied him, and even Sayaka seemed upset with Hiro, all signs of her prior guilt completely wiped from her face. Even I couldn't help but feel all of my growing respect die just a little bit more. All he could do after that was try and fail to convince the three of us to get our fortunes told until the others finally came back, though notably without Byakuya in toe and with quite a few sour expressions. But for me, all of that became irrelevant when I saw one specific boy with puffy red eyes walk in.

"Chihiro? What's wrong?"

* * *

"What's wrong?" his friend asked, concern filling her voice, and it wasn't even a challenge to guess why. Chihiro knew he'd been crying again, it was very obvious, but he couldn't help himself. Just remembering the conversation he'd just gotten away from almost made him feel like crying all over again.

Finding their wayward member had not been a challenge in the slightest, just as Junko had said, Byakuya had holed himself up in the library with a cup of coffee. What had he been doing there was simple, reading one of the many mystery novels that were prevalent in one section of the selection of several books. Inherently, there wasn't anything wrong with that, even though he had held up the meeting because of it, and Chihiro and most of the others would have been understanding had he decided to apologize, or even make an excuse that he had been too focused on his book to hear the morning announcement; flimsy though that excuse would be.

However, that had been the furthest thing on the heir's mind apparently, as he stated that he had no intention of going to where anyone could poison his food while he wasn't looking. That wouldn't have been too bad, hell, it was even understandable given what they were calling the "Pancake fiasco" yesterday. Not a single one of them were willing to take anything from the kitchen without thoroughly examining it first for the entirety of the day after.

However, then he went farther in his comments and the things he said both horrified and disgusted the programmer and the others on a personal level. "This is a zero-sum game where only one of us can win." And, when they tried to explain that they should work together to defeat the mastermind, "Working together, fighting a common enemy? We were already working together and look what happened." Chihiro was just glad that Sayaka hadn't been there to hear that one.

"Anyone who wants to escape…will just have to follow the rules as stated." He had said so coldly, as if doing so would be no concern for him, as if that wouldn't be a risk to his life as well as theirs. Chihiro had tried to talk back to him, to remind the blond rich boy just what that would mean. They had already come close to killing Sayaka with the last trial after all, and he couldn't bare himself if they had ended up actually going through with it.

Yes, the others did have a point when they told him that they should be blaming the mastermind for forcing them into this horrible game in the first place, and he knew that. However, though he hadn't been able to say it himself, he also felt that they held just as much responsibility for voting for her in the first place. It had been them who actually listened to the mastermind in the first place. They had cast the vote even knowing that it meant her or them.

But, he still wasn't able to say anything with Byakuya continuing on to say that there was no point in believing that they could wait for the time limit to expire, simply because there would always be someone willing to give in and try to become the blackened, and even if one motive failed, there would always be others. They would all falter eventually.

The very idea was even somewhat supported by Celeste, who reminded them of her stance about wanting them all to adapt to their current environment, if they want to stay alive that is. While she had a point as well, Chihiro knew he couldn't last if this _game_ continued like it was. They all wanted out of here, including him. They wanted to get out and save their friends and families that were being held captive by the cruel person…the _monster_ that was making them play this game.

And Byakuya even had the gall to claim that this _game_ was to fun, that he didn't want it to end because he was so confident that he would win. The way his face twisted into a smile as evil as a devil's when he said that, to say it unnerved them all would be underselling it. That smirk had sent a chill screaming down the petite boy's spine, and made him want to be anywhere else, away from the horror that one of his friends was becoming.

Then, as if to prove exactly how little he believed in the possibility of being killed here, Byakuya very bluntly insulted Mondo, stating that, he was surprised a, "Uneducated, brain-dead, useless piece of garbage like you has survived this long already." To say that the biker was livid would be laughable, Mondo was absolutely blood thirsty savage for a brief moment, red in the face, and had Taka and Sakura not quickly restrained him, he might have sent the arrogant heir flying.

Though, there was a small part of Chihiro that wished that had happened. Byakuya had clearly known that the two strong peace keepers of the group would stop the berserk biker gang leader from following through with his threat to kill the millionaire boy, as he hadn't even reacted to the threat, nor when the clearly stronger teen lunged for him. He just stood there, looking at Mondo like he was barely worth his notice, like the gang leader wasn't worth anything more than the gunk one might find on their shoe. Just that look in the blond boy's eye made Chihiro feel a bit anger himself for Mondo's sake.

It didn't help that Celeste brought up Byakuya's title as the Ultimate Affluent Progeny as if it was a good reason for his actions, even stating that he'd been raised to succeed since the day he was born. That didn't mean that he had any reason to act like this, did it? He even went as far as to call Celeste vulgar when she dared to suggest that they were similar in that, "I must always win" mindset. Celeste, the only one of them who had been supporting his thought pattern regarding this whole thing.

To think that he would then taunt them all further, telling them to try harder so that he could have more _fun_ winning, even though he clearly knew that doing so would get everyone else killed. The uncaring way he stated his belief on the matter, it was horrible, deplorable even. To do such a thing to friends, allies fighting together for everyone's sake, poor Chihiro couldn't even begin to understand that twisted belief.

Then, as if just to finalize the wedge separating them from him, Byakuya went as far as to state that they never were friends, "Merely competitors fighting for some prize-we're enemies." He continued to hammer this into Chihiro's head, blatantly ignoring the meek boy's merger protests as he coldly stated his case, demanding that the programmer stop trying to force his contradictions on them and except the truth. To keep his mouth shut if he wasn't going to present a real argument.

It…It hurt, to be told all of that so bluntly, so uncaringly, that his belief in his friends was wrong and he was wrong for believing in them. That his bonds were meaningless in the long run, his hopes to get out with everyone else was pointless. It struck a chord deep down inside him, and it made his tears, which he'd somehow been holding back throughout the verbal lashing, finally flow like a waterfall down his cheeks.

He couldn't believe Byakuya would say such heartless things, to so casually throw away all of them for his own goals of escape. That he would just openly admit that he had no intention of working with them and planned to do anything, even resort to _murder_ to win this horrible excuse for a _game_ just hurt the boy on a deep level.

He barely even noticed Mondo standing up for him, or Hina putting a comforting hand on his back, so lost was he in his tears. Even when Byakuya finally left, once again stating his belief that working together in an elimination match was pointless and that he refused to work with any of them, Chihiro continued to cry unabated. It wasn't until they all began to make their way back to the dining hall that he was able to calm down enough to stop the flow, but leaving his eyes puffy and red. When Junko had offered her shoulder, he hadn't even thought about it, he'd just walked over and accepted the offer.

Yet, as he lay his head on his friend's shoulder and the others finished explaining what happened to the four who had been fortunate to miss out, he wanted to start crying all over again. The fact that Toko hadn't stayed with them, choosing instead to head off to her room because she was afraid that the rich boy heir might be right, only made him feel worst. To think, she would say that she would, "Never want to eat with someone who already tried to kill them" clearly referring to Sayaka and then dashing off without letting them get a single word in the bluenette's defense was almost just as heart wrenching as the verbal assault they'd just left with Byakuya.

"Tch, that bastard's going to be a real problem." Mondo stated once they had all finished with their tale completely. "If we don't keep an eye on him, he might really kill someone. You can see it in his eyes."

Leon pipped in next with an idea that made Chihiro feel uncomfortable. "We got no choice then, someone get some rope! We're gonna have to keep him tied and gagged!"

"That's going a bit too far." Makoto commented with a look of exasperation. He wasn't really wrong either, despite what he'd said, there was a limit to what they could risk doing to Byakuya with Monokuma around.

Unfortunately, Taka even threw out his own agreement to Mondo's with a loud, "He's right! In a situation like this, there is nothing more dangerous than when an ally turns loose cannon! It's just like when we we're kids and someone would go crazy on sports day or something!"

"What kinda childhood did you have?" Junko asked, clearly confused by where exactly the moral compass was going with that last comment.

Unfortunately, whatever he would have said was cut off by Mondo's interrupting rather angerly. "What the fuck are you talking about!? You gonna use the rope to play tug-a-war!? Idiot!"

"I'm not an idiot…" Taka lurched back in shock at both the unwarranted comment, but then he was quick to refute just as angerly with, " _You're_ an idiot!"

"Seriously? What are you, five?" Leon commented on the rather juvenile response, but it was overall ignored by the continued argument devolving into a complete shouting match. Chihiro wasn't sure when, but he was sure that he heard Mondo tell the "Baseball idiot" to stay out of this. The redhead didn't seem to appreciate that as he jumped in on the name calling regardless of the context. The others couldn't help but wonder why it had devolved into something like this. But then, there was feeling of tension that was coming from their resident fashion model, who was quickly growing more and more furious by the second.

Her eyebrow was twitching rather sporadically while her grip on Chihiro's hair was slowly starting to become quite a bit rougher and clawing compared to the soft and comforting loose grip it had been before. it didn't hurt, she wasn't that harsh, but it was clear that all of the shouting was getting to her. Eventually though, she couldn't take their bickering any longer and snapped, "Would you guys kindly, SHUT UP!"

The three boys jumped at the shouted demand, their replies were cut short by the evil glare she leveled on them. "God, you guys. I can _not_ think with all of this racket going on. Seriously, I know _children_ that don't squabble as loud as you three do. Sheesh. I'm trying to think here, so would you kindly shut it?"

She kept her glare on the trio for a time, her will pressing against them, daring them to continue their shouting match, warning them that doing so would result in hell to pay. They tried to say something in their defense, but whenever one was about to speak, her burning gaze would quickly lock on to theirs and freeze them in place. Leon was the first to look away of them all, reluctantly rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he apologized with a simple. "Sorry, my bad." Taka was next to give in with his own guilt apology, the comparison to being like a child striking a cord with him as the one responsible for keeping the peace.

Mondo took the longest, since he was used to being the Alpha male, and was used to such glares no doubt. The two teens continued glaring at each other for a good while, both unwilling to give in so easily to the other's. The air felt thick all of a sudden for all of the onlookers, everyone concerned that sooner than later they would turn to blows. Eventually though, Mondo's gaze dropped first, his expression hidden by his massive perm. There was a small muttering from the biker that sounded a lot like, "…Sorry." But, it was so quiet that it was hard to tell.

Still, it was enough to pacify Junko for now. She paused for a moment to rub her temple with her free hand, "Okay, now, let me see. You said that Byakuya seemed to be focusing his little, "greater than thou" speech against Chihiro an Mondo the most, yes?"

The way that she looked at the others was something that caught them by surprise and more than a few of them glanced at each other as if seeking the answer of what she was thinking of in each other's eyes. Sadly, even for the one girl who claimed to be psychic, the answer to that question wasn't clear. So, in the interest of keeping things going, Sakura confirmed, "Yes, tis what happened."

"I see." Junko stated, her voice carrying a very concerning tone that made Chihiro uncomfortable in her grasp. He couldn't pull away though, on account of sharp fake nails of her lightly digging into his scalp. "Interesting."

"The hell's _interesting_ about it!?" Mondo, and surprisingly Leon, were quick to rebut loudly. If they were going to say anything else though was unknown, as they both turned to look at each other in shock at their synchronization, only for it to turn into a glaring match shortly after. Junko, ether not noticing the tension between them, or ignoring it entirely, continued her thought.

"Well, I find it interesting that it took him so long to fall back on the Togami lifestyle." The way she said that caught several of the teen's attention, though it was Hina that asked.

"Togami lifestyle?" Junko nodded her head and explained, "Yeah, the lifestyle of the Togami family. Their old slogan was… Oh, what was it? Something like, "target the weak, reap the strong." Something like that? It's apparently been their family moto for generations."

"Target the- Wait, what?" Leon stumbled trying to understand what she meant, and failing. Fortunately, Junko continued.

"Yeah, apparently the Togami family has always been like that. Finding people's weaknesses and exploiting them for profit, they target a person's weaknesses to see what about them is strong, then they use that knowledge to their advantage to find the best of them to either hire into their circle, or recruit for their various companies to keep them away from the competition. Quote, _reaping_ the best of the crop. Even amongst their offspring that's no exception."

"Whatever do you mean?" Celeste asked with a very interested look in her eye, a gleam of opportunity shining through her calm expression. Junko simply shrugged, yet continued either way.

"Well, when I was in middle school me and some of my class were doing a project where we had to research the lifestyles of rich folk, and we ended up with Byakuya's family, and let me say, you do not want anything to do with them after what you hear what I found." She let Chihiro go as she spoke, her eyes becoming hardened as she told them the shocking truth of their irritating cohort. "Now, most of what I found is considered rumors so take it with a grain of salt, but there is a load of things that make it seem likely. Apparently, at the prime age of thirty, the head of the family at the time will embark on a trip around the world for one purpose. Finding themselves the people with the best genes for the next head of the family to be born."

"Jeans? Why would they want people's pants? I thought they were rich enough to buy their own." Hiro muttered aloud as he cupped his chin in thought, completely obvious to the glares on some of the other's faces from his idiocy.

"Not _jeans_ you mook, _genes_ as in genetics. They wanted people to keep their bloodline the strongest." Mondo growled at the fortuneteller's goof up, and said teller flinched back while Junko nodded to the gang leader in thanks.

"Exactly, only the best for them to continue the family name. The problem though is that, they don't really just find one." The fashionista's face took on a twisted grimace, like she had just bitten something sour, and it very quickly became known why. "Per their tradition, they gather multiple people of the opposite sex with promises of great riches, usually females since men then to lead the family the most, and then once they've _committed_ themselves and bore a child, they are given a flat one million and booted out while the kid is inducted into the family."

"So, wait, they just go through all that effort to find these women, and they just kick them out when they got what they want?" Leon questioned with a disgusted look on his face, a look that was mirrored by a majority of the others as Sayaka added, "That's horrible!"

"And yet, this is something the Togami family frequently do, correct?" Celeste added, though if one were to look closely, they would see her normally perfect mask had become noticeably strained with fury. "You did say that it was a tradition after all, did you not?"

Junko nodded her head in agreement, her grim expression worsening. "Yep, and if you think that's bad, wait till you hear what they do next."

"There's more!?" Hifumi shouted in shock which was mirrored by the others. How could it get any worse? As they listened though, it turned out that it could get a lot.

"Yeah, from that point on, the kids spend the first decade of their life having the best tutors that money could buy cram as much knowledge down their throats as possible. Then once the _potential successors_ are about a minimum of ten years old, they're all given an allowance of about a thousand, a small list of connections, and then they're kicked out of the only home they've known for years. Then, they're basically told, "Alright, go out there and don't comeback until you've made yourself a name and a fortune, do better than your siblings, and if you can do so in about three years or so you can come back." Oh, but when they do, their told that, "Surprise! We lied! Only the one you made the better fortune for themselves gets to become the heir. The rest of you can go live your lives among the ninety-nine percent and rot for all we care." Tch."

Horror ran through their minds and the very idea. To be raised under such horrible conditions was outright disgusting to them, they couldn't even imagine what it would be like to live in such a way. Taka was one of the ones most effected and was chewing in his lower lip in conflicted frustration. "I never would have imagined that he had to go through so much. He's a genius who had to work hard to get where he is, even if it meant defeating his own family. To think I was so quick to think of him as a lazy genius who never put any effort into his talent. I'm so disappointed in myself!"

Even Mondo and Leon had been affected in some way, both looked a bit troubled by the news, like they were internally debating with themselves whether they could enact their own planed act to hog-tie the bastard after hearing all that he'd been through. The others were in similar states themselves, though no one could blame them. Their entire view of the blond millionaire had been completely up ended by the words of the strawberry blond holding the crying programmer, only this time the tears were for the affluent progeny instead of for himself.

Sakura had even seemed thoroughly vexed by the news of their ally's suffering. Even though she had taken the dream of strongest fighter in the world from her father, she had always believed in the ideals of her family to protect those that couldn't fight for themselves. It was their belief that you should always fight as one without blinding yourself in the allure of winning, and to uphold the fact that at the end of every match, you are still family. To hear of how Byakuya's family would be so callous to make children fight to see which would be allowed to stay sickened her to her very core. It made her wish that she was allowed to leave this prison to speak with the blond boy's family about this sick display they dared to call a tradition.

Amongst all the sneers of disgust for the actions of the rich family, there was one who was silent.

Kyoko had her hand put against her chin in thought, and was the only one who wasn't noticeably affected by the horrible past of their fellow student. It was certain that she was considering something, but just what that was she was thinking about was unclear until she turned to look at Junko and asked, "Why are you telling us this?"

"Hmm?" Junko's questioning voice came out as she turned from comforting Chihiro to glance at the purple themed albino. Kyoko continued now knowing that she had the idol's attention.

"You said that these were rumored, yet the way you say them makes it sound less like online rumormongering and more like you've heard it from someone with actual weight. There's also the fact that you have been quite vocal in your…displeasure of Byakuya's actions so far, so why-" Whatever she was going to say was quickly shot down by Junko with a rapid response of her own.

"Yeah, _I'm just gonna cut you off here with a resounding, not anything that you were gonna say_!" Her words had been spoken quite quickly and had they not been paying attention they'd have misheard it. Fortunately, when she continued, it was both at a neutral volume and pace. "Don't get the wrong idea here, I hate that d-bag's guts. Hell, he's lucky that I wasn't there myself, otherwise I'd have clubbed him over the head with my crutch then and there; consequences be damned!"

To say that the sudden fire in her voice shocked the others would be an understatement. Hina was quick to comment on it as well with, "Huh!? But you just said…!"

"I know what I said." Junko once again interrupted, her expression unchanging from the glare she wore during the last time she'd cut in. "He's family sucks, boohoo, he's so freaking sad. Just because what I said could possibly be wrong in some areas means nothing, he could easily tell anyone of us if it's right or not if he wants to later. That doesn't change the fact that he's got a superiority complex a mile wide and that he pisses me off with his attitude. He's still the head of an entire corporation at his beck and call and more money than even Yasu-always in freaking debt-hiro could waste on junk."

She gave a sharp inhale, completely ignoring Hiro's scathing remark at the jab against his collection, and then sighed. "Remember what I said and his weak and strong ideology? He was using it on you and Chihiro, Mondo. He knows you two are the currently biggest threats to him right now, you for your easily provoked nature, and Chihiro being so much gentler hearted."

"The hell do you mean by that?" Mondo asked, no doubt understanding the part about him, he was well aware of his anger problems, but Chihiro? Fortunately, Celeste seemed to understand where the fashion model was going with this.

"Ah, you mean to imply that he believes that Mondo will be the next of us to fall to the mastermind's temptations." She stated, not a hint of questioning in her tone. While the biker was stunned silent, trying to come up with a response that didn't revolve around swearing his lungs out, Junko scoffed.

" _Imply_ nothing. He knows that Mondo has the highest risk because of his anger problem; you know it, I know it, we all know it. He's also the first one to jump to the aid of the girls here when he thinks someone picking on them." Mondo flushed slightly at that remark, he hadn't realized that anyone noticed that. "That's why he was trying to provoke you into attacking him and why he berated Chihiro so much. He was making it so Mono-prick could drop the hammer on you without the need for a trial. Probably thought that it would be best to eliminate the one of us whose most likely to snap first." There was notable anger in her voice, but it paled in comparison to the outrage on Mondo's face.

To be a target of manipulation wasn't something he was exactly _unfamiliar_ with. There had been a few times in the past that he could remember someone directing his supply of great fury at someone or another, usually in an attempt to get him to mess up and get himself arrested. However, this had been the first time that he hadn't figured that fact out as it was happening, usually resulting in said manipulator getting a beating with said fury.

What made him even more mad though, wasn't the fact that he'd almost been tricked into getting himself offed. Rather, the thing that made him most upset was Junko's reasoning behind the blond scion's insults to the programmer in her arms. That he would pick on the weakest girl here because he had realized it would further piss off the already furious biker made Mondo want nothing more than to rush out that door and pound that asshole right into the ground. He wanted so much to show that pain-in-the-neck exactly why you should never poke a lion with a stick to get a reaction.

The only thing that stopped him, however weak its hold on him was, was the realization that Junko was right. That was exactly what Byakuya wanted him to do, to fly off the handle, beat the smug bastard's face in and get executed as a result. He wanted Mondo to prove him right for calling him all of those names, and that was why he dragged the petite and weakest of them all into it all because he realized that it would make the gang leader lose it.

Well, he wasn't going to give the bastard the satisfaction. It took a great amount of strength, far more so then he ever would admit since the sight of the chick crying from that prick's words kept pissing him off even more, but Mondo managed to force his arms down into his pockets of his jacket with a grit out, "Damnit."

With Mondo temporarily pacified, Junko turned back to Kyoko with a final thought. "See, you asked me why I told you of his past. Well, while I hate the guy, I can see where he's coming from because I have an idea of the shit he's had to deal with. When you can't even trust your own family, then of course you're gonna have trouble trusting anyone else. I can't fault him for having that belief, no matter how stupid it is. I don't know about you, but for me, it's one thing to hate him for his actions, yet I can't hate someone unless I have the context behind why they were acting so stupid. I have that context, you all do now too, and I say that it's no excuse for him to be such a Jack-a-hole! You're past may make you who you are, but it doesn't give you the right to use it as an excuse to be a total jerk to others."

The purple dressed girl said nothing in response, though she did stare into the strawberry blonde's eyes for a while longer then what was probably necessary, before turning away to think on her own. As for the rest of the group, they all decided to have breakfast. The meal was rather tense due to the previous conversation and the thoughts of the students kept wandering back to the blond boy and his rather jaded world view. The words the blond girl of the group that told them of Byakuya's past, as well as the scion's words stayed at the backs of their minds as they ate.

* * *

 **Hello again everyone.**

 **My, my, it seems that things are getting rather tense here. Byakuya is always quite a bit smarter then makes himself out to be, isn't he? I always thought that he wasn't stupid enough to risk his life taunting someone who could thank him like Bane did to the god-damn Batman. He may be an ass, but he's smart enough to realize that none of the others would have let Mondo attack him, even if he deserved it, and I don't know about the rest of the fandom, but I always thought the way he singled out Chihiro for calling them friends seemed a bit too focused. There's no doubt that he had said his piece on the matter the night before with Hina and Makoto, yet didn't it seem that when Chihiro said it he suddenly became much more hostile? It did to me, and it was right after he got Mondo revved and up had made Chihiro cry in that order that he chose to leave with the comment about someone possibly poisoning food. He clearly knew he had succeeded in what I think his goal was, to paint a target on his back by needlessly provoking the one of them most easily susceptible to anger, and making the one most likely to bend under pressure break down into tears. I think his aim was to make them all on guard fully knowing that they would all be betrayed again because of Monokuma's motive of the week, and wanted them all to be ready for it in his own D-bag way.**

 **But what do you think? Was he always trying to do this for a purpose, or was he just being a dick for the sake of being one?**

 **Also, unrelated note. I'm currently looking for a beta if anyone is interested, as all of the ones I've tried aren't big on OC driven plots. All I ask is that they look over my work once or twice to find the errors and that they have extensive experience with Danganronpa.**

 **Until next month.**


	24. Machismo despair

"You okay?"

Chihiro looked up from the ground quickly at the voice who spoke to him and was met with the concerned gaze of his friend Junko as she sat across from him. Her face was flush once again and dotted with droplets of salt full sweat that clung to her and made her skin shine in the artificial lighting about them. He knew his features wasn't any better, he could feel the heat throughout most of his body and could occasionally feel one or more drops of moisture tickling him as they ran down his face. Though, thankfully, for once it wasn't from crying.

However, he couldn't find it in himself to smile back at his just as sweaty friend even when she pushed one of the few bottles of water they'd brought against his cheek. All he could do was look away from her concerned gaze in defeat. "I-I'm fine."

Junko frowned in response to his half-hearted words even as she pulled the cold bottle away, and he didn't need to imagine why. Both of them knew full well that he wasn't fine; he was anything but. Even after most of the day had past them by, and after exhausting himself with their late-night training, he still felt depressed.

"Oh, I'm just going through some…self-loathing." He reluctantly admitted to her, though only because he knew that if he didn't, she would find out eventually anyway. If she had given him a look of either concern or exasperation at what he said, he wouldn't know as he continued to look down at his lap. "It's just…after what Byakuya said this morning, I got so nervous I just sort of…froze up. I couldn't say anything."

Chihiro wanted to cry, but for once, they refused to be shed. He had just run out of tears, all that was left was his fatigue. "Mondo ended up having to help me out, and even _he_ said that I was someone who, "can't fight back…I…I hate how weak I am."

"Hey now, that's not true." Junko tried to reassure him as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Come on, you're strong…"

Unfortunately, it did nothing to deter his belief. Her words slipping off of his discouraged heart like water off a duck's back. "No, it is. I…I'm just a weakling."

The fashionista wasn't swayed by his words as she grabbed both of his shoulders and forced him to look her in the eyes. "No, it's not. Chihiro, I know that you aren't the most masculine guy here, but that doesn't mean anything."

Her words were firm, yet carried a caring tone. There wasn't any hint of a lie or falsehood in any word and her eyes portrayed the same. She truly believed that he was strong, that he didn't need muscle to be the strongest person here. However, that didn't help as much as he had hoped it would.

"No, it's more than that. When Byakuya started saying all of those things, I tried to stop him. I tried to make him realize that he shouldn't be saying all of those horrible things about our friends like that. I…I tried to stand my ground but…but then he kept going even after everything I said." Chihiro's voice was faltering, and the volume of his voice slowly faded out as his head bowed in shame. Shame that he couldn't live up to his friend's expectations. "He just wouldn't stop and…and…"

Junko jostled him sharply and she made him look her in the eyes once more, pulling him close enough that he could feel her breath on his face. "Hey, hey! Don't focus so much on that. Listen, you can't take that one loss to heart. Remember what I said? He's lived a life of strife since he was born, he couldn't even trust his own family. So, of course he wouldn't be willing to trust anyone else after that kind of lifestyle."

He did remember that, he had been embarrassingly pressed up against her when she had said it after all. He would have had to have been absolutely deaf to have missed it. To think that someone had lived such a horrible life that they had to believe that people were expendable assets, and more over that they were one of his classmates to boot. It boggled the young programmer's mind to even imagen.

However, that did nothing to dissuade the soul wrenching pain the blond scion slammed him with in the library. Junko may have made it out that it was Byakuya's way of telling them to stay on their guard, but that didn't stop the pain in his heart from being targeted like that for being the weakest in the room. It didn't matter that it had been the rich boy's plan to rile up Mondo, it didn't stop the pain.

"Still…"

Junko cut him off before he could say anything more. "Plus, he's the head of one of the biggest companies the world over where even the slightest sign of weakness will drop you on your but before you can blink. I don't mean to be mean, but that was like going up against a level fifty super boss at level _ten_. That kinda thing only works for experts who grinded for hours every day until they know every avenue and aspect of the boss and their attributes."

Well, he couldn't deny that she had a point. Though he hadn't played many games in his childhood, he had been more focused on programming and working code for fun to spend the time and money needed to invest in investing time to playing videogames, he did understand where she was coming from. Byakuya was a professional in speech compared to someone like him who was so afraid of being bullied again that he chose to hide and cry rather than confront his aggressors. In contrast, the glasses wearing scion stood unflinching to someone who could, and would, pound his skull into the ground. He blatantly provoked the biker knowing that he would get a reaction, fully believing that he would be able to get away with it. Chihiro himself would never willingly try to do the same, it was practically suicide.

Junko was right, Byakuya was on a whole different level then Chihiro himself was. The millionaire had confidence in spades from years of fighting against the odds to rise to the top of his family's hierarchy and stay there. He had to be as ruthless as he was to get such a lofty position.

Still, that didn't explain one thing. "Level…ten?"

"What, did you think I was gonna say you were level one?" Junko smiled in a teasing way. "Come on, you aren't nearly that bad off. 'Sides, that's only in speech. When it comes to being a good person who cares for people, you have him beat by a country mile."

Chihiro blushed faintly at the vote of confidence, but he still wasn't quite sure. "Even so…"

"If you only focus on your failings, then you'll miss all of the good you've done."

Chihiro blinked, his mind struggling to process the words spoken by his friend. Her tone had become so serious so suddenly that he felt like suffering from emotional whiplash. "Huh?"

Junko shrugged lightly before adjusting her position to get more comfortable. "It's something I heard somewhere. But for the life of me, I could _not_ tell you where it's from though. Regardless, it doesn't change how true it is. You're a great person, Chihiro. You do so much that I couldn't even begin to describe it all. Just focus on you. Don't let someone like him get to you."

Chihiro's cheeks regained their reddened hue once more and he turned away in embarrassment. "I…I get what you're saying, but…"

Junko, one more interrupted without a thought to what he was trying to say. "And about Mondo. Don't forget, right now he thinks you're a girl. Guys like him are all about protecting the woman folk. Some kinda thing about respecting them or something. For all his strengths, even he can't fight that thought process." The blond girl suddenly slapped the air in front of her with exasperated annoyance. "I mean, come on, the guy is always stressed and all but shouts about how he wants to have a good scrap, but he won't even humor the idea of sparing with Sakura because she's a girl. I mean, he'd still _lose_ , but still."

The small crossdresser could help but giggle a bit at that, the over exaggerated simplification of Mondo's attitude doing wanders for his emotional state. "That's true…but, I think that makes him dependable. He's really just wants to help everyone."

Junko returned his endearing smile with one of whimsy. "Yeah, I guess. Still could stand to take a few anger management courses though, you have to admit that much."

"That's true." Chihiro didn't even try to argue that point. The amount of times the biker would yell for rather idiotic reasons was enough that, if someone were to list them all, it would drape along the floor.

Chihiro's smile fell soon after though, his mind returning to the reason they were doing this training in the first place. "Still, I have to get even stronger. If I'm so weak anything can make me cry…that's not good."

"I think it's endearing myself." Junko interjected with a small smile.

"Huh?"

"Well, it just means that your sensitive." Her face suddenly scrunched up in thought as she processed what she'd just said. "Wait…wrong word. What I mean is that, you care a lot about things people say; both the good and the bad. You're the sweetest person here, bar none, and you do your best whenever you can. You're fine as you are."

Once again, Chihiro found himself speechless. His face was red as he tried to come up with a counterpoint, but his mouth refused to respond. In some ways, he found this even more embarrassing then the fact that he would nearly burst out into tears at the slightest provocation. He didn't know what it was, but her kindest words always invoked similar responses of silence. Nor could he explain how the way she looked at him when she said such things made his stomach feel fluttery and his tongue feel like it was tied into knots.

Maybe he was getting sick, yeah. He should probably get that checked out, it wouldn't do him any good to get sick here.

He was brought out of his musings when he heard a surprisingly bitter chuckle come from his friend. Turning to look at her, he saw she had brought her good knee up to her chest and was resting her forehead on it while her arms had wrapped around her leg. Before he could ask what she was doing, her heard her mutter something that made his heart clench. "Sides, you aren't the only one that hates a part of themselves."

"Huh?" he asked, his eyes wide in shock. Just what was she saying?

"Believe it or not, I have somethings about myself that I can't stand either." She continued, her voice carrying a weight to it that made his heart feel like it had clenched in his chest. "I don't know if you noticed, but I can be extremely impulsive, I'm almost as bad as Mondo when it comes to controlling my temper, and patience? Forget about it. I can barely handle the thirty seconds it takes to reheat my morning pop tart, let alone something important. And I'm always so…so _very_ bored. It's so hard for me to keep myself entertained that I keep tempting the idea of messing with everyone just to get a reaction…I mean, I don't since that's a bad idea in this situation, but I still keep entertaining the idea."

A deep, almost sorrowful sigh burst from her lips as she finally raised her head to look at him with dead, hollow eyes full of despair. "I have to restrain myself all the time from acting how I usually do to keep up this stupid appearance of being the perfect valley-girl stereotype model intact. If I don't, I risk damaging my reputation forever and losing my spot as the Ultimate Fashionista. I have more cons then pros to my personality, and none of them are allowed to see the light of day."

Chihiro was stunned silent by the model's speech, as well as the murky depths that she had revealed of her own personality. He had no idea that her life style was so hard on her, or that she had been holding on to these kinds of feelings. Whenever she talked with him, she had always seemed so kind and understanding, if a bit snarky on occasion. He would have never assumed that she held this much baggage on her shoulders. He wanted to try and reassure her that she was wrong, that she was really a good person, but that blank stare in her eyes had him choke on his own spit.

Then, a melancholy smile worked its way onto her lips, and his heart clenched up again. "But, I've made my peace with it. I knew that was what I was getting into when I was signed up for this. I…I've grown used to it by now. Sides, it only helps prove my point. Everyone has something about themselves that they hate about themselves, but you can't let that hate control your life. You have to focus on the things about yourself that you do like and use that as motivation to improve your faults or turn them into positives. That's how I get through my days anyway."

Chihiro stared at her with a feeling of sympathy for her and her situation, and almost unconsciously, he found himself scooching over to read a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She glanced at the hand for a moment, then turned her gaze to him. With the best, most sincere smile he could muster, he said his piece. "I think you're a wonderful person, Junko. I don't think you're as bad as you make yourself out to be. You're so kind to me and everyone around you, even when you don't have to, and you're always trying to help us all stay together. You're also very forgiving, you tried to make Sayaka feel better and helped start her on the road to forgiveness. And, even when you figured out my secret, you didn't tease me, or call me names, or anything like that. You've been helping me overcome my own weakness."

"C'mon, I didn't do that much." Junko halfheartedly denied with a lazy wave of her hand. "All I've done is help push you in the right direction."

Chihiro vehemently shook his head. "No, if it wasn't for you figuring out, I wouldn't even be here. I would still be hiding in my room, too terrified that I'd expose myself to even attempt to try to better myself. I would still be too scared that I would be a danger to myself to even do anything. Even if you think it was just a little, you've still helped me change, and maybe someday soon, I'll be able to tell everyone the truth without being afraid. And that's only thanks to you."

A deep blush enveloped him right as he finished, and he turned away embarrassed. He hadn't meant to tell her all of that, maybe most of it, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to make sure that she knew very well just how much her actions had impacted him and his life already, and to tell her how much he appreciated her doing so. He just couldn't stand letting her talk down on herself like that, it hurt him so much to see her try to make herself out to be a bad person. He just couldn't help but say what he had.

Junko's smile that had redeveloped near the end of his speech faded into an expression full of thought. "Yet…I can understand wanting to grow stronger. Hmm…"

Chihiro snapped out of his thoughts when the girl next to him suddenly started to stand, her crutch briefly wobbling as she adjusted it underneath her arm. "Junko?"

"Hey, this might be bit sudden, but let's go back down stairs. I want to try out the sauna." The suddenness of the request caught him flat-footed and left him reeling. There hadn't been any mention of the hot room in their conversation, so the unexpected desire was completely unexpected. He blinked as she limped towards the door, completely unaware of his befuddlement.

Startled, he quickly scrambled after her. "Huh!? Why?"

Junko, either not noticing his shock or ignoring it, turned to give him a mysterious smile. "No big reason. I've actually been meaning to head down there ever since they opened up. Now seems like the perfect opportunity. Come on."

"W-Wait! Junko!" He called after her as she walked away. He stopped as he passed through the door just long enough to grab his bag containing his uniform and pocket his E-handbook before charging after the surprisingly fast crippled girl, his shouts fading as he chased after his friend.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the school, a heavy competition of endurance was taking place. Two men, both extremely determined to prove themselves the best man here sat with grit teeth and stern faces. Their eyes full of raw, unadulterated passion as they braved the odds to prove their machismo as the better man. Sweat of their burning desire poured down their red, boiling bodies and rapidly evaporated to coat their bodies in a valiant attempt to cool down their fiery forms. Thick, foggy puffs of air escaped from their clenched teeth, their breath actually so cold compared to the blistering heat of the room that it near vaporized the moisture as it left them. Without turning his head, one of the two young men spoke to his fellow competitor with labored breath. "D-Don't you think…it's about time…t-that you gave up…?"

The other, slightly taller man with a white towel laid across his pompadour to keep the moisture from completely melting the gel used to help keep the hair standing, didn't move to the taunt. Internally though, he was kicking himself for choosing to wear his clothes to make this easier for the namby-pamby sweating up a storm next to him. Yet, despite the absolute torture that his body felt it was under, he replied to his red eyed competitor. "What about you…? You can't even hardly speak…dumbass."

Taka was unmoved by the words of the biker sitting next to him, he simply clenched his cupped hands harder as he struggled to endure. He knew that the biker was blowing smoke, trying to get him to focus on his own body when he was about to pass out, but it meant nothing to the moral compass. He was determined to show that meat-headed fool who the real man was! "I-I'm fine. S-Say whatever you want…I'm still totally fine…good to go. In fact, I'm…actually starting to feel a bit…cold."

It took a moment for the burning biker to process exactly what Taka had meant since it could very likely have just been another of the taunts that they'd been slinging for a good while now. However, considering that he had actually started feeling the same now that the spiky-haired brunette had brought it up. "Aw, shit man…that's…prolly not good."

Regardless of the taunting of the two men, from the other side of the door to the boiling sauna the worried voice of one of the judges of their endurance competition, Makoto shouted a worried. "H-Hey guys. I know that you want to prove how big of bad-asses you are, but…don't you think you've done enough?"

" _Shut up_!" both of the roasting teens shouted back in reply, both determined to not give into the temptation of backing down first or losing their focus to the smaller boy's concern for their heath. Said boy couldn't stop the large bead of sweat running down the back of his head as the exasperated sigh of his fellow judge brought his attention away from the madness on the other side of the door.

"Come on guys. The night time announcement was a while ago. Why not just call it a tie for now and pick it up in the morning?" Leon groaned out from where he had slumped down by the door to the hot room, looking absolutely bored out of his mind. Seriously, how did he even get roped into baby-sitting these two morons with Makoto? He had just been getting a snack from the dining hall with Sayaka and Makoto when these two mooks grabbed him and the luckster and forced them to come help judge them.

Well, he was certainly judging them alright!

Taka, either unaware or outright ignoring the irritation in Leon's voice, stated back. "In a true competition…there is no such thing…as a tie! You either win…or you lose. That's the only thing that…matters!"

"Yeah…what he said…" Mondo continued with roughly equal exhaustion in his voice, completely forgetting both of their potential problems, but it was also filled with a begrudging…no, was carried actual respect in the _man_ next to him for understanding and stating exactly what he was going to say. "Heh, in that case…Bring it on! I'll…I'll push you right up against the gates of hell!"

On the other side of the door, both boys gapped in response to the pure stupidity of that statement. However, Leon's was more exasperated then concerned. "S-Seriously!?"

Makoto was really feeling worried. While he wasn't sure that they were being serious in their declaration, it didn't make him feel reassured in the slightest that at least one of them would truly go that far. "G-Guys! This isn't good!"

Unfortunately, Mondo took their concern in the wrong way as he stated to the broiling teen next to him, "Y-Yeah, didn't you hear him? Why don't you just crawl back to your room? I'll let you know…how it went in the morning! Then you can start…spreading my legend!"

Taka, completely falling for the taunt, replied with roughly equal amount of heat. "Y-You wish! You'll…You'll fall down in front of me…on your knees. I'll show you where to do it…!"

"Big talk from somebody…whose face is about…to explode…!"

"R-Right back at cha!"

At this point, Leon gave up. Throwing his hands up in the air completely fed up with the metaphorical dick measuring contest going on, and also tired of sitting on the hard tile floor of the bathhouse, he stood up and started walking for the door. "Oi…Forget it, I'm going back. I've still got to get Sayaka to her room anyway."

"Yeah…that's f-fine…Later. I'll tell you all about my victory…in the morning!"

Taka, chuckled in response to Mondo's words of blood-boiling determination. "T-That's funny…I was…just about to say the same thing…about _my_ victory!"

"…" Makoto had been just about to chastise the all-star for leaving, but now even he was sick of waiting for the two teens to realize that this was stupid. Finally accepting that there was no way for him to win in this situation, he turned on his heel and began to follow after the red-head, tossing back a quick, "…Okay, well…g'night then."

Once they were both out of hearing distance of the sauna and the two boys were still for a moment as they stopped to consider what they had just been forced to witness. Their gazes briefly locked on each other's, searching for clarification in their deadpanned expressions, before they turned as one to look back towards the sauna for a brief moment. Once they were sure that, yes, that was in fact a thing they had been forced to bear witness to, their gazes returned to the others and they both sighed. "…Geez. Talk about a couple of meat heads, am I right?"

Makoto nodded with a pensive grimace. While he didn't like speaking badly about anyone behind their back, he also had to agree with the baseball pick-up hitter. "Yeah…Do you think they'll be okay?"

Leon shrugged off his concern with barely a thought. "Yeah, they should be fine…prolly…most likely…well, at least they should be. I'm not sure about Mondo, but Taka should be smart enough not to let it go too far."

Makoto wanted to comment on how quickly the pro-baseball player had lost all confidence in his own reassurance, but he was more focused on his own indecision. A large part of him wanted to just call it a day and leave the two muscle-headed teens to their stupidity, and he was all for it too. However, he couldn't help but feel worried about them both, and Leon's own failing confidence in the belief that the two boys would be okay certainly didn't help.

Both Mondo and Taka were very determined, strongminded individuals. They were very firm when it came to their convictions, and were unwilling to bend to others will easily. It wasn't likely that either one of those very testosterone fueled men would be willing to call it off for anything short of a murder cropping up; and even then, he wasn't sure that was guaranteed.

Still, that didn't stop the feeling of mild irritation that came from being roped into something so seemingly pointless.

However, just as the two boys sighed and once more in exasperation, a familiar voice quipped, "Let what go too far?"

Makoto and Leon turned their heads to the source of the voice and where met with a rather unusual sight. Two girls, one blond with her hair pulled up out of her normal twin pigtails for one large ponytail and the other in her normal messy bob heading their way. The taller one was limping on a crutch while the smaller was helping to keep her stable. What was interesting though was the fact that they were both wearing matching blue tracksuits and pants, though the blond had taken the top of hers off and had it wrapped around her waist by its sleeves, leaving her white, partially see-through V-neck exposed to show off her black bra.

Quickly making sure to lock his gaze with their own to avoid any misconceptions that would result in him getting clubbed over the head for looking, Makoto abruptly asked, "Huh? Junko, Chihiro?"

"What are you two doing here?" Leon quickly picked up after getting a quick look at her himself and remembering the steely glare on her face when she said how she would club Byakuya over the head for pissing her off. He wasn't quite sure that it wouldn't apply to him as well.

Thankfully, if she noticed their glances Junko didn't comment on them, choosing instead to shrug disarmingly. "Eh, just planning to use the sauna for a bit. Cleanse the pores of the day to day poisons and all that, y'know."

Both boys instantly cringed, to the two-girl's confusion. Leon decided to speak up first though, awkwardly stating "Well, sorry to tell you this but you might need to wait for that."

Both Chihiro and Junko glanced at each other briefly before turning back to the boys as Chihiro asked, "Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's…" Makoto started before cutting himself off. How was the best way to say this? "Taka and Mondo are having an endurance contest in the sauna at the moment."

Junko instantly gained a look of frustration mixed with what the others could only guess was disgust. It was rather difficult to tell as it also carried a tinge of what felt like disappointment. Disappointment in what, they weren't entirely sure, but it was most likely aimed in Mondo and Taka's general direction if they had to guess. "Seriously? Ugh, and I was looking forward to it too…" She sighed, but then her expression quickly turned inquisitive. "Incidentally, how long have they been in there?"

Leon clearly hadn't noticed the icy glare she had obtained that the others noticed. He just shrugged and gripped the back of his head in exasperation. "Eh, a little over three hours by now…I think?"

"What!" both Junko and Chihiro shouted in response, the former with more heat compared to the pure concern in the latter. The suddenness of the whole thing caught the two boys by surprise.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Makoto asked, the quickest of the two to recover.

Junko growled in response, an almost primal, somewhat feral snarl. "Those idiots. There's a reason that they only let people stay in there for at most, twenty minutes! Tell me they at least brought some water for afterward."

Leon was still reeling at the sudden aggression on display, struggled to dredge up the memory. "Um, maybe? I don't know. It was all kinda sudden."

"No, I don't think so." Makoto corrected, nervously glancing between the infuriated girl and the door to the bathhouse. Now that he realized that the two machismo teens had actually forgotten to bring with them some water to keep them from dying of dehydration, his worry that had started to fade had returned tenfold. Were they actually going to be alright in there if they left? He didn't know, and that uncertainty gnawed at him.

Junko however, seemed to grow even more agitated as she started to storm past them all as she ranted. "Freaking-Ugh! Well, at least they aren't doing anything more completely stupid."

"Uhh…" Leon made the mistake of interjecting, and quickly cut himself off. Unfortunately, Junko had caught that slip up and paused in her steps. A very dark foreboding feeling suddenly gripped them all by the throats and left them shivering in their sneakers.

"…What did they do?" she asked very bluntly, and it made the hairs on the backs of their necks stand on end. Quickly picking up on the slowly building feeling of danger, both Makoto and Chihiro mercilessly stepped behind their red-haired cohort, fully prepared to use him as a human shield if necessary. Poor Leon wasn't even given a chance to give the two a betrayed look before he caught a glimpse of Junko's singular eye glancing over her shoulder and staring straight into his being. His eyes widened and his pupils dilated from the pure terror gripping his soul from the look of absolute murder contained in that one eye, paralyzing him on the spot.

From his position behind the tongue-tied ball-player, Makoto gulped down his fear as best as he could and told the demon possessing his female friend, "W-Well, Mondo wanted to give Taka a chance to win and…so, he might still be…wearing his clothes."

Junko was silent, deathly silent as she glared at the three of them, silent as the grave one might say, and it felt like their nerves had been dunked in ice water. The pure malice that emitted from her eyes was only dwarfed by the cold steel held within her next command. "…Hold my bag."

"Huh…? Oof!" Was all Chihiro was able to get out before she was taken out by the fashionista's bag containing her uniform as Junko tossed it over her shoulder and nailed the smallest member of the group, easily bypassing the two boys in the process. The boys were only able to barely process the whole thing before they turned their gazes back to the tall blond women as she headed into the bath house. Even with the limp, she made for an intimidating figure, and if asked later, both would respectfully deny that they had felt relieved that she wasn't aiming her sights on them.

However, though he knew what the likely answer was, Leon still felt that he had to ask, "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm going to kill them..." Junko bluntly stated, her tone as dead and emotionless as if she was reporting the weather. "I'm going to bend them _both_ over my knee, and then I'm going to kill them both. If they want to walk each other to the gates of hell, then I'll make them _beg_ to be let in by the time I'm done with them."

The three students glanced at each other in shock at her bluntness. The way she had stated that didn't feel like a quip made from anger, like threatening to murder someone like that didn't really mean anything. It actually sounded like she truly meant it.

"W-Wait! Junko!" With panic in their minds, Chihiro quickly led the charge after their friend to keep her from ending the lives of two of their cohorts in a fit of rage.

Makoto and Leon were quick to follow after. "Wait up!"

* * *

It has been said that, in times of extreme adversity, people will either set aside the differences that separate them and band together, or allow the cause of their strife to overwhelm them. There will be times when you will be forced to find common ground with the ones you find yourself despising with all of your heart, lest you be forced to parish together. There may even be times where, upon spending time with the people you hate, you will learn more about them and obtain a new understanding of them that will either endear you to them, or at the very least help you relate to them.

That felt like what Mondo himself was feeling at the moment, even as his skin felt like it was nearly blistered and boiling under his clothes and his breath burned in his lungs, he couldn't help but find himself begrudgingly enjoying shooting quips with the stubborn asshole sitting next to him. "H-Heh…L-Look at you…You look like one of those goddamn hot spring m…monkeys."

"H-Heh, like you're…you're any better off. Y-Your face looks like it's about to…about to explode." Taka himself replied, his voice just as labored as his own, yet it couldn't hide the respect layered throughout each word.

Or maybe that was the heatstroke talking.

Mondo scoffed. The bastard had to be messing with him, there's no way that someone like him with his rules and studying fetish would ever have any sort of respect for a biker gang leader. "Don't even joke…I bet you're ready to just pass out, r-right here and now."

Taka in return, bit his lip and growled as he finally stood up. There was a noticeable waver in his step, but that didn't stop him from reaching over to the pale of water sitting next to the heating coals and splashing a bit on the heated rocks. Instantly the water evaporated into a hefty burst of steam with a loud roaring hiss that made the already blistering heat of the room spike even higher. Despite getting a full-frontal blast of steam that made his already broiling high body burn and his lungs scream at him for doing something so stupid, the stubborn boy slowly turned on his heel and sluggishly, stiffly stepped back to resume sitting down next the glaring delinquent. "D-Don't mock…my resolve. I can go for even longer then…then you could ever dream. L-Like I said, if a-anything, I think it's still too c-cold in here."

Mondo sneered back at him in response. Cocky bastard. Like he didn't see how stilted his walking was. "Tch, yeah right…I woulda thought that someone like you would…would know your limits…you punk."

Unknown to the biker, Taka was smirking inside. His plan, though spur of the moment, was working. The few books he'd studied on people who turn to the dark side said that the best way to get them to respond was to prove yourself on their level. It wasn't easy since you needed to do more than just say that you were on their level, you needed to let them challenge you to something that they would be great at and match or surpass them. After that, they would be putty in your hands as long as you kept loyal to your ideals.

True, it wasn't actually something he had been planning to enact on in the first place, it was far more than a little manipulative for someone of his morals to do. Yet, in the heat of their argument in the cafeteria when Mondo challenged him to this competition and he'd accepted, he ended up realizing that he was doing just that. Even if he only realized it an hour into their contest, that didn't change what had happened. It bit at him for even considering using such a tactic, yet it was far too late now for regrets. Now it was the time to strike while the iron was hot! He would then bring this fool hearty fool back into the light!

After all, as he had once said, "When the body is naked, so is the soul." So, this would be the best way for them both to interreact and he can form a real bond!

"Say…" Taka had to take a moment to gulp down the heated drool that had started pooling in his mouth in an effort to sooth the burning desert that was his throat without letting the actual punk in this situation learn about it; it wouldn't do to show weakness here. "s-say what you will about me, but I still…I still hold the moral high ground! Y-your no-good attitude won't help you he-here."

If Mondo had seen his momentary lapse in speech, he wouldn't ever know because the biker had been more focused on his words then his floundering. That rage made anything else irrelevant for him. "The fuck you say!? You don't know a goddamn thing abo-about me! You gotta death wish or something!?"

Taka smirked in return even as his chapped lips stung from the movement. Gotcha. "Hah! See! That is exactly…exactly what I was talking about! Your attire is appallingly sloppy…You think you can solve all of your problems with violence, and…a-and you're in a biker gang! People like you are always cowards that are all bite and…and no…morals, who make excuses for being the way they are instead of improving themselves. You're just…just like Byakuya! When it comes to having guts, compared to you, I've already won by default!"

Mondo growled, and that made him feel even more smug even as his head felt wabbly and unsteady from expending so much energy during that speech. He was right after all! And now that he'd brought the truth to light, he could begin the road to this reckless youth's reformation into a proper member of society. It would be a long and grueling challenge, one full of failures and triumphs, but it would be better for the delinquent in the long run. He knew calling him out to this challenge was the perfect way to-

"You son of a bitch…" Mondo growled, but this was different then his usual angry growling. Instead of the usual aggressive undertones, this one felt more…how to put it? Defensive, and maybe a bit scared. "You think you're hot sh-shit, but you don't know nothing. I'm not _in_ a biker gang, I'm the de facto _leader_ of the biggest goddamn biker gang this country has ever fu-has ever fucking seen. I'm the guy responsible for every single one of the Crazy Diamonds, I have been since…my brother…"

Mondo trailed off with both his clenched teeth and hands. His eyes had squinted shut as well, but that could have just been from the sweat possibly getting into his eyes. But, more importantly, this wasn't anything Taka was expecting. To think that he was actually someone who actually had responsibilities, and more importantly took them seriously. That wasn't anything like what his studies had told him, they told him that they became lowlifes to _escape_ from responsibility, and everything associated with it.

But, more importantly, what did his brother have to do with this?

With raised brow, Taka decided to ask, "Your…brother? What about him?"

Mondo was silent for a moment, his arms clenched tighter than anytime they'd been before, and that raised the other of Taka's brow with concern. But that only means that… "He's…dead. He died."

"…!" Taka's other brow jumped up to join its brother as his jaw dropped from shock. "I…I didn't know…"

Mondo looked away with a glare plastered on his face. He spoke clearly, yet firmly, with his tone completely depressed. "Yeah, well, not…not many know about him…anymore. It happened a few years ago and…n-never mind. I don't wanna talk about it."

The moral committee chairmen couldn't meet his eyes, and let his own droop down. To think, that was the reason he was like this. "I…I see. If it's not too presumptuous of me, why…w-why did you both join a biker gang in the first…in the first pl-place."

Mondo's face turned into a rather grotesque scowl, as if by saying that, Taka had spat right into his cereal. "Tch, we never _joined_ a gang, we…we built it up together…but Daiya was the one who got it all started. He rounded up all of the biggest bad-asses to ever ride a hog and t-told them we were gonna clean up this damn town. We'd been riding together ever since…"

For Mondo it was the height of insulting for him to be called that. To make it seem like he was some little kid who only joined the just so that he could say he was cool. That kind of thing was something that made him feel really pissed off, of all of the things this punk could have insinuated. That was the kinda bullshit that he kicked people out of the gang for, for not taking it seriously. Just because he invited just about anyone to try it out and ride with the gang for a trial run, didn't mean he wouldn't kick people out for being worthless punks who were only in it for themselves.

On Taka's end, he was running their conversation through his head trying to understand Mondo's words. This was different then what he had been led to believe, he had assumed that Mondo was only in a biker gang because he had thought it was cool, yet now it seems that was wrong. To think, it was actually the man's elder brother that was responsible for leading him astray, and for him to out right start a biker gang! That kind of irresponsibility was shameful in the highest extent!

However, there was something about that statement that caught his attention. "…Hey, you said your brother brought together your gang to…t-to clean up the streets…What did you mean b-by that?"

"Shit, you caught that." Mondo sighed with the realization that he'd messed up. No point in hiding it. "Yeah, he wasn't a fan of the way the cops in our area were being complete fucking morons, letting all kinds of shit happen that they s-should have been taking care of…Daiya was sick of letting all of the jackasses out there r-run 'round like they owned the damn place."

"Then why didn't he join the police force himself?" the moral committee leader asked with a raised brow. It was only logical in his mind. When there's corruption, you fight it at the source. That's what his father always believed anyway. "He could have worked alongside them…to help protect and serve-"

"Don't you think he would have if he could?" Mondo suddenly cut him off with a surprising amount of disgust and disappointment in his tone that completely shut down the passion in Taka's speech and left him stunned.

"What do you mean?" Taka breathlessly asked, and he was not prepared for the answer.

"Daiya tried that first." Mondo explained with frustration and vile on his tongue like he was spitting venom with each word. "Tried to join the fuzz as a motor cop. He had the smarts, the guts, and the attitude that could have cleaned up the town easily…but, some bastard with a chip on his shoulder set him up for something he didn't do and got him kicked before he could even start! That's why he started the gang in the first place, because of crap like that! That's why we need to get out of here."

Mondo suddenly slumped down in his seat, almost like he had burned out all of his energy with that outburst. Even his normally clenched fists had gone limp, and yet, when he looked closer, Taka could see them quivering slightly…but that might just be from all of this heat, he wasn't sure.

"I need…" Mondo choked for a second, but he quickly recovered. "I need to get back to the gang. They're the only thing I got left in this rotten world…"

Taka was floored by that. "The…only thing left? That can't be right, what about…" Taka struggled to think of something that this brute of a man could still cherish besides a group of delinquents, and ended up just saying the first thing that came to mind. "your parents?"

Mondo had gone silent again for a moment, and for a second, Taka held within a hope that he had been right on the money with that one. Parents were the only thing that should always be trying their best to raise and support their kids, so surely, they would be someone that he could look to as a reason to continue living. Right?

But, then Mondo spoke again and brutally shattered that thought. "…Not even them. Mom barely interacts with me since Daiya…passed away. And my Dad's a complete ass, he wouldn't give a damn if I died. The Crazy Diamonds are all the family that I got left, and they…they're all that is left of my brother's legacy."

That was…That was much more deeply intricate then he had first thought. Taka had only thought it was something revolving around idolizing his elder brother from the way Mondo had spoken of him, and that did seem to be a good part of it, but to think that he thought that his own parents who raised him wouldn't care if he died. That thought was…rather disheartening to say the least. But that feeling of pity was over whelmed but the newfound respect he held for the biker for carrying on his deceased brother's legacy and the responsibilities it entailed; despite how unethical it might be in the grand scheme of things.

"Their survival…" Mondo continued unknowing of the respect that he had now earned from his dedication, "it's all on my shoulders. But…I don't got the brains that geniuses like you got, I'm all brawn. Hell, I'm lucky that this damn academy even let me through the fucking gates in the first place. That's why I need to get out of here. They're all waiting for me out there."

Taka wanted to tell him that he was being a bit over dramatic, and to reassure the biker gang leader that if they were as strong as he claimed they were, they would be just fine until they all managed to escape. However, when Mondo called him that dreaded word that he despised more than anything, he found himself frozen as he tried to contain the rage that word inspired in him. "…Don't call me that."

"Huh?" Mondo uttered, having not quite caught what Taka had said, even as the fuel to his aggression faltered at the sudden level of aggression in the moral compass's voice.

"Don't call me that word." Taka repeated with more force in his voice as he faced the confused biker. "I'm no genius. I'm a normal person, just like anyone else. I'm from a middle-class family; actually, they're not even middle-class...We're broke and cripplingly in debt."

Taka grit his teeth, the memories of exactly why his family was so poor to begin with fueled his rage. "That's why I have to push hard! I have to knock down that wall of ignorance that promotes _them_ of those that truly work hard for their place in the world! It's not geniuses that change the world. It's ordinary people who make every effort they can. And to prove that, I have to keep on making effort after effort after effort! So, do not call me a genius! _Don't_ lump me in with those lazy clods who don't put in any effort!"

Mondo was stunned by the sudden ferocity in the committee member's voice. It was so much more bitter then his normal bravado that it left him stunned and confused. Yet that wasn't the only thing that confused him. "Wait…what? Ain't you like, an A class student or something? Wouldn't you have to be a…" He paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to say it without offending the teen next to him. " _you-know-what_ to be like that?"

Taka cringed at that remark, and his eyes lost a bit of the heat they held before. The teen then turned his head away from the biker, as if unable to look him in the eye, but his scowl remained even as he stated, "…Just because someone gets perfect grades, it doesn't make them a genius."

"…I don't get it." Mondo admitted in turn, his hand reaching up to scratch his head through his sweat laden locks. How could you not be a genius to have such good grades? He'd always assumed that only really smart guys would be able to do anything of the sort. Hell, his own grades, while not exactly failing, were quite frankly shit in most areas that didn't revolve around machines, and measurements for things like wood working or such, hence his belief that you'd have to be a genius to be able to keep up with it all.

"Like I said, I push myself hard in everything I do, I put my blood, sweat, and tears into my studies to keep my grades at their highest. I have to spend countless hours hitting the books or risk falling in my GPA. I have no time to waste on the nonsense that the others pointlessly indulge in…" Taka cringed, his voice losing most of the heat once more, becoming more sheepish and shy. "even if it makes it difficult to hold a normal conversation with them at times."

Mondo found himself nodding along. That part was very clear, even the most socially inept person could tell that Taka really didn't know how to interact with people very well. Still, "Are you serious? Fuck man, I mean, I get that your motivated and shit, but where's all this coming from?"

Taka was silent for a moment, his eyes remained locked on the ground as a deep scowl formed on his face. One filled with immense loathing and frustration. "Byakuya. His actions today and his story, I want to hate him because his actions remind me too much of the very people I stand to prove greater then. Some consider genius fate's blessing. But I see it as a tragedy more than anything. I can't help but pity him for being called a genius and for him letting it get to his head."

His scowl lessened and Mondo saw his gaze fill with something he had trouble recognizing. But if he had to put it to words, he'd say it was…pity. "Yet, I've seen him struggle with the most common of tasks on the job board. It's the tragedy of finding success without understanding the importance of effort. There's nothing worse than a genius who trips and falls. Just like my grandfather..."

Huh? Where had that come from. "…Your grandfather? Why, what'd he do?"

The public moral committee member flinched and he became full of shame. He genuinely hadn't meant to say that. Momentarily, he was hoping to avoid having to discuss his very real disappointment in the greatest disappointment in his family, but it would be unfair of him to ask Mondo to drop the subject now, especially after talking about the biker's own family matters. So, despite how it made his stomach turn into knots, he hesitantly turned and asked the dreaded questioning that he loathed to hear the answer to. "…How much have you heard of the former Prime Minister, Toranosuke Ishimaru?"

"Not much," Mondo admitted after a moment of pondering. "last thing I can recall was something about some embezzlement he did or something like…wait, you mean he's…!?"

"The very same." Taka muttered with a grumble. At least he didn't have to go through that part. "That man is my Grandfather…he was what many considered a genius. He never had to study hard to learn any topic, he was always on top of any conversation he held with anyone. In only a few years' time, he went from Minister of Foreign Affairs to Chief Cabinet Secretary, and finally...Prime Minister. And all without any support network, and only a high school degree...! He was, simply, a genius. Everything he did, he did without any effort."

Mondo couldn't help the dropping of his jaw. What the hell kind of man was he!? "Holy shit…! How the hell did someone like _that_ get involved in a crime that bad!?"

"Simple...he allowed himself to be controlled by naive emotions, and got roped into a corruption scandal." Taka stated with great shame coating his tone. "He had no idea what the world of geniuses was really like. At least, that's how I see it. At that point, he fell just as fast as he had risen. And it wasn't just in politics. The business world had no use for him anymore, and he plummeted. The debt he left behind torments my family to this day. He died a few years ago. By the end, he wasn't speaking to anyone. Despite his fame, his legacy...the only people who came to his funeral were family members."

The ultimate biker's gaze dropped at that in disbelief. That was the kind of rise and fall story that you'd hear in one of Hifumi's manga or something like that. It was so absurd and ridiculous that, if it wasn't straight lace Taka saying it he wouldn't have believed it. "…Shit, man. I had no idea."

"My grandfather serves as in important lesson why you must never be deceived by words like " _genius._ " That's why I felt so _frustrated_ by Junko's tale of Byakuya's family. Their actions are just like the kind of scandals that ruined my grandfather, forcing someone to live such a harsh life, and ruining their futures. I don't want him to end up like my family did just because he was unaware of regular procedure and ethics…"

The steel that had faded from Taka's eyes had returned again, only this time it was tempered with a passion that impressed the biker greatly. "But after that, I hope to reform this world back to where people like Byakuya don't have to exist! Relying on my own effort, I will reach greater accomplishments than anything my grandfather ever did! So, we have to work hard to build a society where those who put in the most effort will be properly rewarded!"

Mondo couldn't help but give him a sad smile. "Heh, you make it sound so easy."

Kiyotaka was quick to jump to the defense of his resolve with fire. "Of course not! Nothing worth doing is easy! However, no matter how intensely the stormy seas may batter me, I will not fall as long as my feet are firmly planted! And if you can't do it alone, just find someone to support you, and you can support them back! That's how you can overcome any storm!"

"Bitchin!" Mondo returned with a hearty chuckle. "Heh, it's kinda funny."

Taka faltered for a second, but quickly refuted, "Wha-What could you possibly find funny about my resolve!"

"Hell no, that's not it." Mondo returned fire with just as much heat, before his voice lessened to a more manageable and almost fond tone. "I just can't help but notice that…you kinda sound just like my bro used to talk."

"…I…Really?" Taka found himself stunned by the sincerity and respect layered throughout the words of the biker that it left him flustered. It was so different from how he was used to the biker speaking to him.

Unaware of what his words had done, Mondo continued. "Yep. He was all about how much the world keeps trying to beat down everyone that couldn't stand up strong. You're trying to make your way in the world, but then all of it gets taken from you by some piece of shit who thinks they're better then you. That's why he was always pounding it in my head about upholding his promise as a man, so that I didn't end up like those kinds of scumbags."

Despite the utter profanities arranged within, Kiyotaka found himself in awe at the words spoken by the man sitting next to him. Regardless of how idiotic he looked and how he carried himself, it seemed that there was actually a truly decent and earnest person deep down in that sweltering pile of testosterone and fury. Never before had he felt some kind of understanding for another man feel so strong, nor had he ever met someone with such similar ideals to his own. They came from two very different backgrounds, each with their own kinds of hardships, and yet they both despised the way this world worked and were seeking to be better than the labels forced on them.

It almost made him want to cry, were it not for a burning question on his lips. "I believe you've mentioned that before, what exactly is a, _promise as a man_?"

"Tch, it's not all that complicated!" Mondo stated, blunt as ever. "Daiya always said, a real man _always_ keeps a promise, no matter what! That's what he left me. So, you can trust me when I make a promise, no matter what."

"I see…" Taka said, noting the fondness in Mondo's voice and returning it in kind. "He sounds like he was a truly respectable individual. The world lost a truly great man when he left."

"Yeah…we really did…" the gang leader stated with a thick tone of melancholy on his tone. The two boys fell into a calm silence, lazing back on the wooden bench with closed eyes, both taking a moment to just think about everything that had been said and reminisce about their own pasts that they'd brought up.

Despite the fact that they had both started this competition to prove themselves stronger than the other, they had both endured not just the heat but the emotional roller-coaster that had come from their recollections of their pasts together. Even as their bodies burned and they both felt like collapsing, neither were feeling like breaking this comfortable silence that had overtaken them. Strangely enough, this whole situation felt almost…nostalgic to the two boys. Like they had done this song and dance before.

But they both shrugged that feeling off. There was no way for that to be true, they would have remembered that by now and said something. ' _The heat must be getting to me.'_ They both mutually thought with a shake of their heads.

After a while though, a rouge thought came to be within Mondo's head.

"Hey, you know, maybe it's the heat talking, but I got an idea."

"What is it?" Taka asked, intrigued by whatever it could be that the biker he'd bonded with had come up with.

"When we get out of this death trap, what say you and I team up together, as bros."

"B-Bros…!?" The request completely shocked the energy back into his system and causing his eyes to shoot wide open.

"Hell yeah!" Mondo confirmed as he straightened up and looked the other teen in the eyes with the most honest smile Taka had ever seen on the biker's face. "You've got the chops to make anything happen, and I've got the muscle. And shit, you seem alright in my books. Working together, I think we could clean this town up. We'll be brothers in arms!"

"Brothers…in arms." Taka mulled the words over in his mind over and over again, and before he knew it, a large grin forced its way onto his face. "I like that! Hahaha! Agreed then! But why should we wait until after we escape!? I say, lets band together right now…Bro!"

Mondo pumped his fist forward in a show of excitement and his voice rose in turn. "Now you're talking my language, bro! Let's show that rat bastard running this shit game our resolve!"

"Right! Let's!" Taka replied with just as much excitement as he flung his arm over the biker's shoulders. Mondo returned the act and they found themselves both completely losing themselves in their excited laughter in finding someone who truly understood their resolve.

Eventually though, Mondo couldn't help but notice something. "…Say, bro. Not to ruin this awesome moment or anything, but does it seem to be kinda cold in here?"

"What do you mean, bro. It's still…" Taka's own voice trailed off as he stopped to consider it. "Actually, now that you bring it up, there _does_ seem to be a lot less steam in here then there has been."

"Yeah, I know, right? It's like someone opened the…" His gaze wandered over to the door that was supposed to be closed, only for him to realize that someone had apparently cracked open the door slightly ajar. His gaze drooped a bit, disappointed that their endurance contest had gone down in flames, but he wasn't too broken up about it. He had gotten a new bro out of the deal, and he had a newfound respect for the shit Taka had had to deal with.

Unfortunately, when he was going to move to shut the door so that they could continue their sauna section, the wooden door was thrown completely open with a mighty bang reveling what Mondo could only describe as a demon with blue eyes colder than the ice of the artic staring straight into his and Taka's souls and chilling them to the bone. Or maybe it was the colder air from the other room rushing in, either one was possible. "Oh, crap."

"Yeah, that's about what I expected you to say." The icy voice of the creature of the void dug deep into his soul to terrorize his inner self with visions of death and destruction. The blond-haired beast's gaze was staring deep, _deep_ within him as the mass of light strawberry tendrils on her head seemed to have a mind of their own as they waved menacingly about, as if waiting for him to lower his guard so that they might strike him down.

Taka wasn't in any better state then himself, practically fumbling to find the words to say. "J-Junko…! I, ehurm, what are you doing in here!? This is a grave violation of conduct! I-"

"Silence. Your yammering. _Skull cave_." She cut him off with a deathly tone that commanded absolute authority that caused the moral to stand at attention while the biker himself was trying to avoid flinching back. "Do either of you have any idea how long you've been in here?"

"What? It wasn't that long." Mondo tried to reassure her, doing his best to resist shivering at the dead-eyed glare she gave him in return. Even though she was on a crutch, and he towered over her by about half a head, she was still making him feel like a little kid. She actually reminded him of his mother right now, it was unnerving how similar their glare was to the point of being uncanny. "Couldn't have been more then…ten or twenty minutes. I'm still good for a little longer."

"Ten or twenty minutes…" she muttered, and instantly Mondo knew he had made a mistake. "Try _four_. _Fucking_. _Hours._ You're lucky I ran into Makoto and Leon or you would still be melting alive in here."

Well, that explains why he felt so groggy. He could have sworn that it had been less than that.

In an effort to retain at least a little of his masculinity, Mondo decided to make what he instantly realized was a mistake. He tried to talk back. "Tch, no way, I've still got plenty of steam to go."

"Oh, you do, do you…?" that was the last thing he heard before there was a sudden burst of choking pain in the side of his neck, and the edges of his vision blurred and went dark. His vision wasn't the only thing that suddenly felt off as it was starting to look like the whole world was tilting. Before he realized it, he had hit the floor with a dull thump, and eventually his gaze faded to the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

*Thump*

Taka looked on in stunned silence as he tried to piece together what exactly had happened. One second they had both been standing being reprimanded, the next Mondo was on the floor while Junko was just pulling her hand back from where she had knife-handed the biker's jugular. "B-Bro! What did you-"

*Thump* went Taka's body as her left hand twisted around to chop him in the same spot that she'd used to fell the biker and he joined him in blissful unconsciousness. The girl looked down on their forms with a look that could only be described as utter disappointment.

"Tch, morons." Junko uttered as she turned to the open door where the three boys she'd brought with stood awkwardly with slack jaws and wide eyes. She rolled her eyes and gestured them in where they were quick to run to the two boys aid.

"Wh-What happened to them!" Chihiro cried out as she knelt down next to the unconscious biker and removed the towel from his head. Concerningly, he found the teen's skin to be dry and clammy, while also being far too hot to be normal.

Leon followed up with a shout of his own, "Dude! What did you do!?"

Junko shrugged dismissively even as Mokoto shook Taka in an attempt to wake him. "Nothing, with how long they were in there, they were bound to pass out after being exposed to room temp long enough without any water or protein to rehydrate. The moment their bodies realized just how much they'd over exerted their limits, it was only a matter of time. All I did was time it right."

"And the chop to the neck?"

"Motivation and proof that they'd gone on for far too long." She continued without a single concern. "Would never have worked if they weren't dead on their feet already. Now, come on you three, you get Taka dressed and we'll drag their buts to bed."

Makoto nodded in understanding and moved to do as ordered, "O-Okay."

Leon, however, was not happy with the idea and made sure to express as such. "Wait, are you serious? No way am I touching Taka when he's like that!"

"And you'd be okay leaving him to either of us?" She returned with a raised brow as she gestured between herself with her free hand and Chihiro who was struggling to lift Mondo up from the heap he had collapsed in. The teen with the red-dyed hair took one good long look at the crutch she was leaning on, then at the struggling girl trying and failing to lift the biker up. Then he turned to look at Makoto who was still trying to rouse the other very red skinned teen, who was also very, _very_ underdressed. And he had to continue that thought while considering that two of them were girls.

"…Well, when you put it like that." That was all he felt was needed to say as he reluctantly started walking over to Taka.

Makoto called out in worry, and turned to look at Leon, "Hey, are they going to be okay?" and he turned to look at Junko in turn. He had no idea, she was the one who knew how this junk worked!

Junko sighed and shrugged. "Meh. I mean, if they were planning to have kids in the next few years, they're shit out of luck. And they might have a few new burns here or there. But they should be fine if we get some water in their system."

"That's good." Chihiro sighed in relief, and let the heavy teen lay back down and rushed over to where she had dropped the bag she had been carrying around and started to sift through it. After a moment, she smiled and pulled out a couple of bottles of water and quickly rushed to give one to Leon before rushing back over to Mondo. Thankfully, this time Makoto quickly moved to help her in getting Mondo sitting somewhat upright and slowly pressed the opened bottle to his lips while Leon did the same with Taka with Junko supervising. Fortunately, it seemed that even comatose the two teens were able to realize that they were desperately in need of fluids and they began to greedily guzzle down the liquid forcing the others to keep the flow steady to avoid drowning the two.

As they continued to somewhat force the two boys to drink up, Mokoto found his gaze wandering over to Chihiro when he realized that the water had almost stopped leaving the bottle entirely despite there still being quite a bit left. To his surprise, the small girl's eyes seemed to have glossed over, as if she were lost in thought and forgot where she was and what she was doing. Clearing his throat softly to get her attention, he reached over and gave her shoulder a light tap.

"Hey, Chihiro, what's up?" The small programmer came to with a startled twitch that nearly dowsed Mondo in water before she remembered where she was and stopped it. Sighing, the timid girl looked at the boy who was still awaiting her answer and gave him her best reassuring grin.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something…it's not important." She had hoped that that was all, but from the way his expression grew even more concerned, it was clear that she had failed to reassure him of anything.

"Are you sure? It looked like you were really focused on something." Chihiro shook his head in denial, not wanting to discuss the dark place that her mind had taken. It would not be good to bother him with her problems right now when Taka and Mondo needed their support without delay.

"No, it's…I just need some time to think. I'm okay." The ultimate programmer replied with a grin, hoping this time it would satisfy her friend's concern. Only, that smile faded when she saw the almost despondent look on Makoto's face that made her heart clench. He was just trying to help, he was just that kind of friend who wanted to help everyone out. Maybe…

"Actually, tomorrow, can we talk some more?" Chihiro shyly compromised. "There's…something I've been working on that I'd really like a friend's opinion on, if it's not too much trouble."

Makoto looked at her in shock, clearly having expected her to continue to politely rebuke his offer, but he quickly dropped the shocked look for one of gratitude and he nodded. "Right."

Any further conversation was immediately cut off when Junko called out. "Hey guys, I still need some help…Oh, goddamn it. Taka's towel is coming lose! Someone help me out over here!"

Leon shouted out as well. "Oh, goddamn- I didn't need to see that!"

"Get off me! I don't want to look at it either!" the two other teens quickly covered their eyes before they could get a good look at Taka's shame, though that didn't stop them from blushing up a storm. This was going to suck.

* * *

"Well, that was a bit hectic." Chihiro admitted to himself in the sanctity of his own room. That had been an adventure and a half with all of them trying to get Taka's towel back on without having to look at his junk. Unfortunately, since none of them were willing to actually dress the teen themselves, the only thing that they were able to do was basically draping his towel and clothes over his crotch, and having both Makoto and Leon carry him to his room by his arms and legs. Well, Junko said she would have done it, but she couldn't because she, one, crutch, and two, she didn't think someone as obsessed with rules, decorum and ethics as Taka would like to know that a girl had seen him in his most venerable without being engaged at the very least. They couldn't help but agree with her on that, even if both Makoto and Leon had felt completely disturbed the entire time.

After going back to retrieve Mondo and dragging him to his own room, the four students decided to turn in for the night and went their separate ways. Well, Makoto went with Leon to explain to Sayaka what had kept him so much longer then he had thought he would, but both he and Junko had decided that they were going to turn in.

Well, that was what he said, but as he finished putting the last screw in on his latest project and flipped it over, he couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty for lying. However, if this worked then it would all be worth it in the end, so he felt he could handle a little guilt.

A small smile worked its way onto his face even as his arms and legs ached as he gazed upon the bulky laptop resting in front of him, the very one they had found on the second floor. He had snuck it out of the library the day after they'd discovered it, slipping it under his coat out of view of the cameras and then making sure to only work on it out of view of the one in his room. Hopefully, the limited modifications he'd managed to jury-rig using the gutted parts of one of the old handheld game consoles he'd been given by Makoto from the school store will work. It made him feel even worst to be gutting a gift that someone had clearly put a lot of thought into making for him, but Makoto had been kind enough to give him three of them, and that helped temper that feeling down.

"This should fix the power issue." He muttered out loud as he turned the hardware around a bit to make sure the modifications he'd made wouldn't fall out when he needed it most, then he set it down on desk once he was satisfied.

"Still, it's amazing." He muttered as he flipped the switch on the side of the laptop, continuing to muse to himself as he waited for it to start up. "They were able to stay in there for so long. They're so…strong…and Mondo even wore his clothes in there! He's so much stronger than me."

He found that he couldn't get that moment out of his head even after about an hour of tinkering with the laptop. To think that anyone would be able to withstand that kind of punishment for that long without collapsing in a pile of burned flesh and clothes. Chihiro knew he would never be able to something that unbelievably dangerous himself, even if he thought it would prove his manliness to another, so to see the two boys doing so was a feat he found stunning.

And to make things more interesting was the conversation the two boys had together. Chihiro and the others hadn't meant to, but when Junko had cracked the door open with the full intent of giving the two boys a piece of her mind for being needlessly reckless, they heard Mondo start talking about his gang and how much they meant to him. She had paused right then and gestured for them all to stay silent as she held the door slightly ajar to eavesdrop while also letting the steamy air escape the room the two boys were still in.

Part of him felt a bit shamefaced for listening on such a private affair, but that was overpowered by the overwhelming curiosity and a newfound respect for both of the two very manly teens and their difficult lifestyles. Taka's tale about his grandfather's rise and fall as well as the aftermath of said fall made all three of the male eavesdroppers share a feeling of stunned yet budding respect for the once thought of as an annoying moral code obsessed boy. Silently, the three boys decided that that they would be a little bit more understanding when it came to Taka's rule obsession from now on.

However, the thing that kept most of Chihiro's attention was Mondo's story. About how his gang was made, his brother's passing, but most of all, the promise of a man slogan that said brother left the hot-headed biker to carry on. The very concept made the smaller boy fill up with excitement, and felt like a part of himself that he hadn't even known existed awaken. He felt inspired, completely invigorated despite the fatigue still plaguing his sore and aching limbs. He almost wanted to head right back to lift some weights despite how tired he was, and moreover, he was wondered if Mondo would be willing to join him and Junko in their training.

"But, would he be interested in helping me? I'm so…weak. Maybe I'm better off staying with Junko. She knows what I'm going through, and she's knows what she's doing too. Plus, she needs my help…right?"

Doubt started to fill him. Junko said that she wanted to help him out and, yes, she was doing her best. But he couldn't help but feel that, maybe, just maybe, she didn't actually need him at all. The thought made him feel a bit disheartened, but he couldn't help but believe that it was true. She knew so much about exercise, care, and she always made sure that he paced himself to get the full benefits of their training, yet he couldn't help but think that by focusing so much on him, she was hindering her own training.

She said that she wanted to help him, and that made him feel so much better… "But…wouldn't she be better off with Sakura…or Hina…they…I know she said that she didn't want to overdo it…and I do want to push myself when I'm with her, like she said. But, still I…"

A dark, twisted feeling started to writhe within his gut and his eyes drooped slightly. His good mood started to fade further as he ran their time spent together through his mind and realized that, they barely even interacted outside of their secret night time meet ups. But, that only made him feel more upset since it was for his sake that they were being so secretive with their training in the first place. If he wasn't such a cowered then maybe they wouldn't need to hide so much, and maybe, he could tell her just how much her help had meant to him.

She had been so much help so far. She found out his secret with basic logic and deductions and, while that terrified him at first, it had been only been something that had helped him since then. She was so helpful, going out of her way to help him even if it meant jumping through hoops and hurtles to do so. "…Would she…would she even be interested in me? All I know is how to program computers. I couldn't protect anyone if I needed to…even when she's been hurt so much, she still so strong."

However, he forcefully shook his head to clear his thoughts. "…get a hold of yourself." With a determined grit of his teeth, he quickly got back to work coding his little side project. He was almost done, he only needed a few more pieces of code implemented and it would be complete.

Truthfully, he had an inkling that, had he not accepted Junko's offer to train at night he would have already finished long before now. However, that would mean blowing off his friend and breaking their promise together, and he had no interest in the idea of hurting her by doing so. So, he had decided that he would make sure to only work on it after they exercised. Sure, he could do it before they did their work out routine, but he knew that he would be too engrossed in the computer that he'd forget to check the time, like he always did. Best to work after their meeting even if he felt sore and tired.

"Now then, just a little more…" his fingers were a blur as he rapidly typed in the dozens of lines of codes needed to finalize his greatest work thus far…Now if he could just stop yawning. "*Yawn* Oh, come on. Almost…There! That should do it! Now let's see. Running final test…"

As the code he'd been working for so many hours and days on flew across the screen, he couldn't help the feeling of trepidation in his chest. This was always the worst part of being a programmer, the wait to see if all of his hard work had been for naught. The fear that everything had been for nothing, that all of his time and energy had been pointless in the end was the greatest pain he could suffer through. All it would take was one single incorrect line of code to destroy the whole program and he would agonize over where he went wrong.

He grit his teeth nervously, his hands clenched as he stared unblinkingly at the screen of line upon line of code ran down the screen, hours of work going straight to use. Finally, after several agonizing minutes of waiting, the code finally stopped moving and…the screen went dark. Chihiro's face fell. "Hmm, that should have done it...AH!"

He was startled as it suddenly light back up a bright green, but he ended up falling back with a crash when his chair toppled over. The wind was knocked right out of him, and his head hurt from where he smacked it against the ground. There was a slight stinging sensation prickling in his tightly clenched eyes as he held his poor abused scalp for several agonizing moments, before they snapped back open in realization that, he didn't have time to lay around like this. Ignoring the painful sensation in his head, he quickly scrambled to get back up, rolling off of his chair and practically throwing it to the side in his haste. Standing up, he gazed at the screen, the calming green glow coloring his face as his eyes searched wildly for a sign. Anything to confirm that it had worked.

At first there was nothing. Chihiro's excitement dwindled as dejection started to set in. Another failure to add to the list. His gaze lowered as he slumped, trying to figure out what went wrong, where had he fumbled in his code. It should have worked, it should have. There wasn't any flaw that he could think of that would have resulted in anything not working, it should have been perfect. So where did he go wrong?

Just as he was about to give up, to just slump down in defeat at what he thought was a failure, he heard something that caused his gaze to snap right back to the screen.

"… _Greetings, master."_

A soft, effeminate voice that was similar to his own emanated out of the built-in speakers. It was monotone, completely without emotion, and it held a slight reverb to it that made it seem robotic in nature, but that didn't matter. That all could be fixed later, right now he was far too excited to care about technicalities like that. More importantly, it worked! The Strong A.I. that he had spent so much time working on was alive!

"…It's good to meet you too…" He greeted back, unable and completely unwilling to hide his smile. He was sure that if anyone could see him now, they would joke that he had stars in his eyes. But none of that mattered. Not what people would say, not the aches and pains of his body, not the way his eyes wanted to droop close and put him to sleep, not even Monokuma and this killing game mattered in this moment. For he had finally made his greatest programming achievement yet!

"Alter-Ego."

* * *

 **Hello people of the web, good to see you all again.**

 **I feel happy for Chihiro, don't you? Finally gets to prove his talent as the ultimate programmer for everyone, despite the trauma of the day.**

 **Before people ask about what I added to Daiya's background, there's a question I'd like to ask you. What all do we know about Mondo's family? His brother more importantly. We know that he founded the Crazy Diamonds, but not why. We know he had a standard that Mondo tried to live up too, but not what inspired that standard. We learn almost nothing about Mondo's father, and the only thing we know about his mother is that she would have kicked his ass if he even dreamed about picking on a girl.**

 **But other than that…nothing.**

 **So, I wanted to take this opportunity to give my theory on why he doesn't talk about them much anymore. Daiya he says a fair amount about, and his mother he expresses respect for, but nothing on his dad. I think he might actually resent his father in some way, because the only time he's mentioned is right before Mondo knocked out Makoto, and that was it. Nothing else since. Hence my theory that there is something that made the family have some kind of difficulty in the past, possibly after or because of Daiya's death, and Mondo doesn't like to bring them up because of it. I leave the idea of how and in what way to you all to figure out.**

 **As for Taka, he is much more open. His grandfather he's very vocal about, and Despair girls showed us that his father is a police officer who might be a bit mad since he was fully willing to shoot at any warrior of hope that got near him. His family is in crippling debt, and it has made it impossible for him to get any of the games and such that he could have used to develop his social skills. Not much else I can say that the chapter didn't already say.**

 **In other news, next chapter might be a bit late. I'm working full time now, so that really doesn't help, but I also want to make sure that the next few are at the top of my game. After all…it's about time for a new deadly life. Wouldn't you agree?**


	25. Secrets of Despair

"Hahaha! What are you talking about bro!?"

The joyous question echoed out from the mouth of the rebellious biker whose eyes had closed from elation the moment Makoto stepped into the dining hall that morning, and it caused the luckster to stop in his tracks from the sheer absurdity he was witnessing. As his brain was trying to reboot, the other teen resting his arm on the biker's shoulders laughed back just as joyfully with his own reply of, "Hahaha! What are _you_ talking about bro!?"

When he had woken up, this wasn't anything that Mokoto, Sayaka, or Leon had expected to run into that morning, resulting in them just standing there for a moment as both Taka and Mondo, the ultimate moral compass and biker gang leader, who until yesterday had been sworn enemies, hung off of each other laughing and carrying on about what they could only guess like close friends. It was such a surreal experience that it made the three to freeze in place in the face of the unusual scene before them.

They weren't the only ones stunned, the others in the cafeteria, minus Toko and Byakuya who were clearly following through with their promise not to attend the morning meeting with everyone, were also looking at the scene with looks of exasperation, having clearly had to deal with this kind of talk from the time the meeting first started to now. There was a noticeable tenseness in the air as a result, and almost everyone in the room seemed to be actively trying to stay far away from the two _bros_ as they could, some more apparently then others.

"…Maybe we should run while we can." Leon muttered to the singer and the normal boy next to him, but that turned out to be a mistake. Before either of them could answer, the biker bro had noticed them loitering in the doorway and waved them over with a joyful cry of, "Yo, Leon, Makoto!"

Spearheaded by his bro's greeting, Taka continued with a grateful cry of his own. "Thanks for being our witnesses yesterday!"

"Huh?" that was all Makoto managed to get out from his befuddled mouth, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing. "Are they…friends now?"

"It…seems like it…?" Sayaka warily confirmed, not quite sure what exactly to make of what she was seeing. On the one hand, it was nice that they weren't fighting anymore, but compared to what they were seeing now, she almost missed the bickering.

"They've been like this all morning." Hina explained with a sigh, both hands in the air in an exasperated shrug as she slowly shook her head side to side. "They were all buddy-buddy as soon as they walked through the door. It feels gross."

Anything they could have said in response was cut off by Mondo's offended shout. "Feels gross!? Hell no! Feels great, more like!"

That got the poor swimmer recoiling back a bit, not having expected the biker to so aggressively defend the new bond he now shared. "This almost feels like sexual harassment somehow…"

"Forget about her bro," Taka responded with a slightly condescending shake of his head. "A girl like her just doesn't get our manly bond! Friendship between men is stronger than blood! A woman could never understand!"

Unknown to anyone, Sayaka had gained a slightly pensive glare at that thoughtless remark. She knew he didn't mean to be, he was far too much of a respectful boy to have actually meant any harm, but that remark was extremely offensive to the woman. Especially considering what she had nearly gone through for the sake of her own friends. Yet, she stayed quiet, knowing that there would be no good coming of bringing that fiasco up again.

Though, she did feel a bit better when she heard the light grumblings of her red-headed escort stating, "I doubt the guys would understand it either."

Fortunately, none of the two bros caught that, Mondo to focused on complimenting his bro to even consider anything else. "Dude, what you just said? Bro, that was cool as shit! I should get a tattoo of it!"

"No, bro, you mustn't!" Taka countered, even though his grin failed to fade. "Your body is a temple, you shouldn't taint it like that!"

It was in that moment that nearly all of the girls in the room did their best to contain their shudders. They couldn't help but agree with Hina assertion. There was just something uncomfortable with how much the newly christened bros were able to get along now despite how much they had almost hated each other that had them all on edge. They just got along a bit _too_ well.

"Friendship between men seems very…simplistic." Sakura noted as she took a sip of her own special blend of protein coffee with a sigh. "Tis nothing like what I'm used to with girls."

"Yeah, for real…" Hina agreed while giving the two loudmouths a cautious glance from time to time. Most of the others in the room found themselves agreeing as well, easily finding the newfound brotherhood a bit overwhelming to say the least. However, there was one other thing that they found concerning in the beaming grin sorted by the only girl seemingly unaffected by the two loud mouths sitting next to her.

"Well, I think it's cute." Junko stated with a slight giggle as she rested her head on one palm and messed with her breakfast with her fork. "It's not often you find yourself in a real life "Breakfast Club" scenario, after all."

While the two boys were trying to come up with a rebuttal to her whole "Cute" comment, Hifumi's eyes lit up with a bit of realization. "Hoe? I never would have guessed that Miss Enoshima would have known about such an old movie. Truly unexpected."

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Hina asked completely confused, not getting the reference herself. Junko waved off the fanfic writer and responded to the swimmer at the same time with, "It's not that surprising, is it? It's a classic setup; bunch of teens from different social cliques get locked up in a school by an authority figure for one reason or another, and they're forced to get along. Obviously, they don't get along at first, but after a few scrapes they find common ground and eventually become friends. I would think that anyone would know of that relic."

There was a few among them who recognized the movie now that they had the summary from Junko, but with his eyes alight with realization, Makoto noted, "Doesn't that sound…?"

"Kinda like our situation?" Junko finished with a smirk, "Minus the whole, _freaky ass bear wanting us to murder each other_ , yeah, pretty much… Still, I never expected you to know anything about it Hifumi. What with your whole fixation on 2-D and all."

"Hehehe, don't misunderstand, I much prefer 2-D over anything. However, even a connoisseur of the world of fiction like myself would be lost without at least acknowledging the classic tales of old."

Celeste made a bit of an observation of her own. "It would appear that our captor might be a fan of the classics, or at the very least, twisting them to their own nefarious purposes."

"Yeah, seems like it." the fashionista agreed with melancholy and frustration, in her tone. "That prick will even screw with our own favorite tales and make them some kind of fucked up game of theirs."

That thought wasn't very pleasant, and in made several of the teens feel a bit uneasy. How much more was the mastermind willing to go to mess with them, how far would they push them into a corner until they had no choice but to consider giving in to the outlandish decision of committing murder just to escape from this wretched school?

"Well, no matter." Taka declared "We won't falter, not now, not ever! We will overcome any of the Masterminds trials together!"

"Hell yeah, we are!" Mondo declared alongside his bro, fist raised determinedly as he agreed with the red-eyed _man_ next to him. Both bros were so caught up in their "bro-hood" that they ended up completely missing the exasperated looks the others gave them or the look of absolute amusement on the fashionista's face.

"Say, what should we call them from now on?" Junko asked with laughter practically marinating her tone, "Should we call them, the Bros, Broforce, Bromanjaro, maybe Jabroni, or possibly the Brominaries of the stars! Or possibly…"

"Please…no more." Hiro moaned from where his head had been placed on the table, the terrible puns were worst then Monokuma's!

"Seriously! What's with you all of a sudden?" Leon asked Junko who turned to him with a loopy grin, "You weren't like this yesterday, what gives?"

Junko paused for a minute as if she didn't quite understand what he was talking about, then as he was starting to worry about her, she muttered out a concerning comment. "Maybe I should have checked those pills a bit closer."

"Pills?" Makoto asked with concern. What could she be taking pills for?

"Yeah, pain meds." Junko elaborated, "When I first woke up, I could barely move without my leg killing me, so I managed to convince Mono-prick to give me some of the pain meds in the infirmary…But now that I think of it, I think some of them might have been expired."

"Expired?" Chihiro questioned with a twinge of concern in her tone. "Whatever makes you say that?"

"Nothing in particular..." Junko stated, before she turned to look at the massive warrior woman with her head lazily lulled to one side. "…on an unrelated note, Sakura, has your hair always been orange?"

"…No. No, it has not."

"…Huh. Well, that's concerning…" She muttered. "Oh well. I just need some more water to flush it out of my system. No, big deal. In the meantime, Bro-brigade, bro-taro, Super Bros extraordinaire!"

There was a unanimous agreement in that moment when the two bros started pitching their own ideas of proper "Bro-names" that, none of them were allowed to keep any of those idiotic names. Though there was noticeable concern for their friend's potential health problems, it was slowly overwhelmed by the growing frustration of her very terrible jokes that her ailed mind kept coming up with. The rest of breakfast was unfortunately filled with a mixture of Mondo and Taka's overwhelming brotherhood, and Junko's very bad Bro name based puns.

* * *

"Hehehe, that was fun!"

I smiled to myself as I walked around the crutch I'd placed against the wall and all but waltzed over to the hidden door to the Monokuma vents with a noticeable skip to my step. I couldn't help it though, I had finally gotten a chance to poke fun at Mondo and Taka's bromance in person!

I know, I know, that sounds rather petty, but I couldn't help it. After the fiasco that was them trying to out man each other, I knew for a fact that they would end up as bros first thing in the morning. It was inevitable really, I couldn't have prevented it if I tried. However, that didn't mean that I couldn't poke fun at it.

More than that though, I initially wanted to make sure that nether one of them remembered the night before where I had stepped in and knocked them out. At the time, I had no idea what had come over me, but somehow hearing about them make such a moronic decision that they clearly shouldn't have inspired some kind of rage I hadn't known that I possessed. Once I had already knocked them out and had time to rationalize what I'd done though, I began to feel rather bad about it.

I knew that they were going to have their little bout that day, I had seen them all but dragging both Leon and Makoto into being their very reluctant judges for their competition, with the former being there despite their own ruling that he was to escort Sayaka everywhere outside of her room. So, it had not been a surprise that they were going to be in there for at least an hour or so since that had been around the time the luckster had given up on them the first time in game. So, when I had come up with the brilliant idea to show Chihiro just what kind of men he should strive not to be, I had thought myself in the clear.

However, not only did my plan on that front possibly backfire, it turned out that with Leon there to keep Makoto company as well as preventing the twin morons from having their time alone to bond, both of the dum-dum brothers decided to continue their little spat well over what would be considered safe. I ended up seeing red. It was one thing for them to be stupid for an hour, it was another to do so for multiple hours and at the risk of your health.

Like I had said, there was a very good reason that you were only supposed to limit your exposure to such extreme temperatures to less than twenty minutes. A sauna normally gets to be about two hundred degrees normally and to keep you from burning up, your body starts to sweat heavily to compensate. The sweat evaporates in the heat to create a cooling area around the skin that then protects it from the intense heat. The problem is that, it requires you to actually have water in your system to create the sweat in the first place.

Those two morons had been so focused on their little competition to realize that they had started to suffer from dehydration to the point that, had I not interrupted the way I had, they might have actually died from it. They had already been pushing it before then with their refusal to leave at an hour in, they were goddamn _lucky_ that they hadn't passed out by the time I'd interrupted.

However, my frustration in their decision of machismo over brains aside, it was really rather enlightening to hear them talk about their similarities and bond. That was something I always enjoyed seeing in both stories, and in real life. It might be quite a bit rarer in the real world, but the impact of seeing it happen was always one of the few kinds of drama I could fully enjoy watching again and again.

And speaking of drama.

"What was fun, Junko?" came the honestly interested question of my beloved, kinda-not-really sister as she pulled off the covers of her blanket now that the coast was clear. It wasn't difficult to see why, Junko was rarely entertained for long so she wanted to know just what exactly her sister would find so interesting, even momentarily.

However, I was more focused on not busting out in laughter at the sight of her normally straight bob of hair sticking up all over the place. Oh, good lord, did she have a bad case of bed-head today. It almost made her look like a more stoic, female Naegi right now then a warrior of war, and that image alone made my day.

Not one to disappoint, I responded, "Oh not much, seems that Mondo and Taka just rekindled their bromance again."

"I see." She replied with a thoughtful look on her face. "I guess it was expected, they were rather close before after all."

Ah, I had figured as much myself, but the confirmation was nice. "Yeah, guess even I can't prevent those two dunderheads from hooking up." A smile worked its way across my face as I moved to sit by her side, throwing my hands over her shoulder in a surprise ranged hug that caused her to tense up in my grip.

" _So_ , how's my favorite sister doing today? You took your meds and all that?" She stayed rather stiff in my grip, no doubt trying to anticipate when the knife or whatever instrument of death she thought I was packing would strike, but even with that completely off the mark assumption she managed to give a response.

"Yes Junko. I'm fine. I have already taken the pill." She said it so straight and bluntly that I almost believed her. However, her eyes wandered a bit to the side and instantly I was suspicious.

"Right…Open." I stated, and before she had a chance to get a word in edgewise, I used my position to my advantage to grab the small area in the back of her neck in a tight pinch. The sudden uncomfortable pain caught her off guard and made her gasp allowing me to glance inside her mouth to see that, low and behold, the soggy pill was poking out from underneath her tongue. The second she realized what I'd done and seen, her jaw slammed shut with an audible click.

"Mukuro…" I hedged with noticeable ire in my voice. Her only saving point was that she had the decency to look sheepish as she dry-swallowed the uncomfortably large pill. But I was far from convinced and had her open her mouth once more with my hand firmly grasping her jaw wide to make absolutely sure that she had swallowed the damn thing. After a minute of thoroughly checking her oral cavity, I pulled away with a look of disappointment.

"Honestly, Mukuro. Who's the little sister here? I'm the one who's supposed to act like a brat who doesn't want to take her medicine, not you." Mukuro couldn't even look me in the eye as she apologized again, a light dusting of pink on her face as she squirmed a bit in place. There was also a slightly glossy look to her eyes for some reason, but I was far too annoyed to care at the moment to care for whatever the reason was.

"Alright," I sighed at her behavior, deciding to put it out of my thoughts for now. "Now let's see how the leg's doing, shall we?"

She gave a stiff nod in return, and hesitatingly pulled off the cover and the sheets that had been covering her to give me an unrestricted view of her form. Well, I say unrestricted, but she was wearing some clothes in the form of an off-white turtleneck and her underwear. She did have a pair of pajama bottoms that she'd normally wear as well, one of the only things of her own left, but the way that they tried to catch on her bandages made wearing them in bed a problem for now. Still, I had to admit that she looked absolutely sexy the way she did now.

What? She was hot! She might not have as much going for her in the boob game as her sister did, but _damn_ did she have that thigh game on point! Dear god, and that tight but! Even with her currently sitting on her mattress, I could tell that you could bounce a coin off of that booty it was so firm. And her legs, if she decided to call them highways, I wouldn't doubt her because they went on for miles! If I was into the idea of incest, we weren't in this forsaken killing game, and the fact that I really don't want to be doing anything to damage her already damaged mind, then I would totally try to ask her on a date.

…What the hell is wrong with me!? I'm about to redress her wounds, one that I'd caused myself no less, and here I am lusting over her freaking legs and ass! For Pete sake, where the hell are my priorities!? I blame it on being shoved into a teenager's body. All of these freaking hormones must be getting to me. Right, that's it. It has got to be the conflicting hormones of Junko's female body influencing my male brain. That's the only explanation.

No, I'm not in denial. Shut up, you're in denial!

"Junko?" I was cut from my depre- well thought out and logical argument, by Mukuro's questioning tone, and my eyes snapped right back up to look at her. "What are you…?"

I quickly cut her off to keep her from figuring out what I'd been doing, "What? I'm just checking to see how your stitches are holding up!" I hurriedly started unwrapping her wound to prove that point, purposefully ignoring the way my heart sped up from touching a girl's legs as I focused intently on the task at hand and not on the warm feeling I was getting when I accidentally bushed my hand against her bu- Focus!

"Well, I should say that it really looks a lot better now." I admitted once the bandages were removed, and I managed to calm my stupid heart. And it was true, though there was definitely going to be a scar, the inflammation had gone significantly down and there was a tender bit of flesh where was once a gaping hole. Even the underside where it had exited, though it made my freaking face betray me in glowing fashion to be all but staring at her but, was almost completely sealed with barely any blood to be seen. Pretty soon she won't need the stitches, but I wasn't going to remove them until I was absolutely certain that her wounds won't reopen.

I had to admit, whoever it was who made those pills really knew what they were doing. It was clear that they had to have been some kind of pharmacist of some sort, and that they must have been at a Super Highschool level, but that was the extent of my knowledge. I _think_ there was going to be one in the new anime that had been about to come out, but this whole adventure happened before I could see it, so I was completely in the dark about what they would have been like.

However, if all of their stuff worked as well as this stuff had, then I really want to meet them when we all get out of here.

' _If you get out of here_ ' I quickly threw that depressing thought away and locked the door. This was no time to be thinking about that kind of thing.

"Alright, now let's get this clean and then we can move on to more important matters." I stated to myself more than anything, but Mukuro nodded along anyway and stated that she, "Understood."

It didn't take long to get everything ready, I had placed a small bowl of boiled water and a clean wash cloth in here earlier for just this reason and now it had cooled to just about a little over lukewarm temp. Positive that it was clear of nearly all of possible contaminants, I was quick to soak the small towel and proceeded to clean the stitched-up areas. It was a little awkward to get to the one just below her tushy, and I had wanted to let her handle it, unfortunately, my brain refused to let me be stupid by letting her try to clean a wound she couldn't see, so I somewhat begrudgingly and wordlessly set about the task; all while pretending that I had not in fact seen her face start to turn red. While I was working, there was a point that I could have sworn that I heard her moan, but I firmly believed that it was from the pain of her bundles of damaged nerves being touched over anything else.

Once it was clean and I was able to toss the soiled cloth back into the bowl, I starting to work wrapping up her now clean wounds. While I was doing that, I decided that it would be good to take both of our minds off of how close I was, ' _Get a grip. You're a professional damnit, act like it.'_ I pointed out, "By the way, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait a bit for breakfast. I got a bit caught up in the moment and had to make them think I'd accidentally took some expired meds, so you're gonna have to wait. Honestly, if I wasn't so good at convincing people that I could sleep off most nonsense, we might have been in a spot of bother there."

"I see." She replied in a very controlled, yet understanding manner. Which was good, I would have hated for her to fly off the handle about how unfair this was for her, as unlikely as it was for her as a soldier who was probably used to having days where food wasn't given on time. But, it still did little to alleviate my slight guilt at depriving her of a meal.

"I'll have Monokuma deliver something once they clear out, don't worry your pretty head about that." I quickly promised, but I made it sound dismissive so that she wouldn't suspect anything. And now for the insult to sell the act. "Though really, you could stand to lose a few hundred pounds."

"Bwa? But if I lost that much weight, then I would die of starvation!" She oh so elegantly exclaimed, and the reaction was so different from what I was expecting that I wasn't able to form a coherent response. This had been the first real insult I'd thrown her way, and with how Junko likely threw them left and right like they were going out of season, I had expected a much tamer response or for her to even roll her eyes, not take it like an order and panic.

Deciding to put that aside for now, I turned my attention to finishing wrapping her leg. Once I had finished, and was satisfied that it was going to come undone, I tossed the old dirty bandages into the garbage and started making my way to the hidden door. I had to get back to the control room soon, lest someone realize that I wasn't there anymore.

However, just as I was about to pull out the key from my cardigan pocket, Mukuro called out, "Junko? If I may, when do you plan to introduce the next motive?"

"Oh, not too much longer." I replied automatically as I continued to fiddle with my pocket, trying to grab the key. I wasn't really all that focused on what she was saying though because of it. "Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to know which one it was you were planning on, so that I'm prepared for it." She replied, and I had to resist the urge to scoff. Of course, she would want to know what the motive was ahead of time. Her devotion to Junko practically demanded that she know this time so that she could make up for making her sister have to attempt to murder her. But, it would be best that she knows so that she doesn't mess this up for me, so I was about to turn and tell her…

I froze. My eyes widened in realization as I immediately had to keep myself from slamming my head into the wall. Of all the this I could forget, of all the this I could have forgotten to do, how the hell could I forget to come up with a new motive!?

I had to avoid crying out in frustration at my own stupidity. I had been so focused on trying to help out Chihiro with his problems, as well as the whole affairs with Byakuya, Mondo and Taka's competition, and finding out how I could best help out Mukuro with healing her leg, and pretending to be her pretending to be Junko, and all while trying to balance watching the cameras, checking on the students, coming up with chores to keep the more studious ones occupied and keeping up with all of their various investigations, Kyoko's especially. I hadn't even had much time to check the journal properly for more information on what had been happening between the past me and Junko.

God, now that I've put it all out there, it's a wonder that I haven't suffered a mental breakdown from the stress.

I was about to start panicking, but the fact that I knew that Mukuro was watching me barely managed to help me keep my cool. Now was not the time. Quickly, I slapped on my best teasing smile and said, "Now, now. You don't need to worry about that just yet. All you need to know is that, I've got a plan that'll really make these fools writhe in glorious despair. Just you wait."

"Very well. If that is your decision, I shall wait." Thank you Mukuro for being so obedient. That could have- "But you will inform me of your next actions soon, right?"

Okay, scratch that. It is still pretty bad. "Of course! After all, it wouldn't do for you to mess up _again_ by misinterpreting what I said. _Right_ , Mukuro?"

She flinched back and muttered an unnecessary apology that made my stomach churn with guilt, but I shoved it down just as fast as it came up. It was a necessary evil. I had to move fast, lots to do and very little time to do it. I all but threw open the door and forced my way through the cramped crawlspace as fast as I could, almost forgetting to close the door on the way. Quickly, I shimmied back up the various floors, wishing that I could just use the stairs the whole time since they'd be faster than this, rushed into the Monokuma room, down the ladder, rushed over to the filing cabinet. I yanked open the drawer labeled "Motives" and quickly started to leaf through each of them, hoping to find something, _anything_ , that I could use as a motive that wouldn't result in a murder.

"No…No…Definitely not…no…No... Ugh, gag me. Like anyone would be willing to kill for _popsicles_ …Naught…Forget it…" I paused for a second to focus on one in particular that left my eye twitching. "Underwear…? Really Junko? Really? How perverted do you take them for…Oh, whatever."

I kept searching, finding each one to be even worst then the last, and detailed to a frightening degree about who would be most likely affected by each one. Ever other idea was something either simple like blackmail, or extortions. Most of the others were downright cruel or unusual, like slowly rising or lowering the temperature till they were only just about at the limit to suffer from heatstroke or hypothermia respectively, to outright cutting off their food supply till they nearly starve to death, to even tricking someone into poisoning someone else without saying who was the victim or culprit and only promising the cure if someone dies.

Then there were the ones that were really way out there like promising cookies that had been laced with highly addictive substances, or even the previously mentioned promise of people's undergarments. These were clearly jokes. They had to be. No one is that stupid.

But overall, "Nothing! Not a god damned thing in here _wouldn't_ result in death! And the only ones that would aren't worth a damn! Fluff me!"

In a rage, I threw a few of them into the air and buried my face in my hands, completely uncaring about the folders and papers fluttering around me. I could care less that I would have to clean them up later, I was to pissed right now.

What was I to do? I had to use some kind of motive to spearhead them on, but I didn't want to make them turn to killing. I needed something that would unite them, but I also needed to make it look like I was aiming to drive them apart. But I had no idea how to go about doing that in the first place, I didn't. The first time around I flubbed up so badly, I was almost afraid to try again. What if I made things worst again? What if I ended up actually getting someone killed this time?

For what had to be the hundredth time, I cursed Junko for ever being born. It was her fault that this whole stupid situation came about. If she hadn't decided to come and screw over the whole world, then none of this nonsense would have ever happened in the first place.

But what could I do? I needed to do this, or else everyone was dead. I had…I had too…I hated it, but I had too.

I just needed an idea of what to do, I just…something. I needed…

' _Why not try what you did last time?_ ' My head shot up at the sudden thought, "What?"

' _Yeah, you failed last time, but that was because you underestimated Sayaka's bloodlust.'_ The thought continued, seemingly unburdened by my confusion. ' _but this time you know not to do that, you know what the next one could end in. You can use this to your advantage, find some way to get the others to cooperate by giving them something to relate too. You've already laid the ground work, now you just need to build on it."_

Build on…?

"…!" I had an idea.

* * *

"Attention, may I have your attention, please. Please head to the Gymnasium immediately! It's time for a round up!"

The irritating voice of their deranged captor rang out throughout the school, immediately grabbing the attention of the students wherever they had been at the time. With great reluctance, they all made their way to where they had been called, gathered in a lose cluster as they gazed up to the stage, waiting in anticipation for their captor to arrive.

"Hmm...asking us to come to the gymnasium so suddenly." Taka mused out loud as he stood at the front of the pack, his fist pressed up to his chin as he tried to rationalize the strange call from the mastermind. The others stood not that far behind him, each with their own looks of worry or concern. Some like Byakuya and Kyoko were giving the stage a look of intrigue or suspicion, concerned yet interested in what their loathable imprisoner could be plotting this time. "What could he possibly want?"

"Indeed." Celeste agreed, her gaze never wavering from the place their hated foe would arrive from. "What might await us this time?"

"I don't even want to know." Sayaka stated her complaint from her wheelchair, not wanting anything to do with this situation in the first place. Just behind her, Leon nodded in consent, his pace puckered like he had bit into something rotten and sour. Not too far off from them was the nods of others with similar looks of distaste.

Counter to them, however, an amused chuckle rang out from the blond scion. "Well, he keeps things interesting, that's for certain." That disturbing grin that stayed on Byakuya's face kept the others feeling tense, many still remembering his words from a day ago.

"How is that funny?" Hifumi asked in slight disbelief, quite unsure of how sane and stable the rich boy was ever since his proclamation yesterday. "Why can't you smile like a normal person for once? Like the housewife in one of those classic TV shows smiles at the end of an episode?"

"He could," Came a blunt reply from their fashionable oriented cripple, who was currently leaning on her crutch next to the tense form of Asahina and the stern protective figure of Sakura. "But first he'd need to know what a normal person smiles like."

Inwardly, Mukuro had to say that she didn't think anyone could get Byakuya to act like a decent human being for very long. He was too stuck in his family's pocket to even think of trying to be anything different. Though, she knew she didn't have much more room to talk, seeing as she was a mercenary who killed people for both a living at to please her own sibling.

Speaking of said sibling, Mukuro also couldn't help but wonder what was about to happen. It hadn't been more than an hour ago that Monokuma suddenly showed up in her room carrying a tray of food, before promptly telling her to hurry up and eat, and get ready. After practically force feeding the soldier without barely letting her get a word in edgewise, he all but stripped her before shoving her into her Junko disguise, and slapping on a thin layer of foundation on her face to cover her freckles, slapped on her wig, and basically threw her out the door with the crutch. She was honestly still reeling for the suddenness of the whole thing that she had barely any ability to process what had happened by the time the announcement rang out.

It was shear happenstance that she had run across both of the beefy sisters, as her sister called them, and got roped into staying with them. In Hina's own words, it was to protect her in case Monokuma tried something on her like last time. It was an unnecessary move on their part, but she couldn't deny that the extra help was appreciated since she doubted she would be able to walk there on her own.

Regardless, Hina stated her own thoughts about the scion's unwanted sense of humor. "There's something totally messed up with you to laugh at a time like this."

Byakuya was barely fazed though, if anything he looked bored from her proclamation even as his brow raised in a condescending manner. "Oh, which of us is, 'messed up', hmm?"

"Huh?" was all Hina offered in return, slightly startled that he would throw her own words back at her like that. "W-What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing in particular." He smirked back, pleased that she had taken the bate he'd left for her. "Just admiring is all. I don't want to kill anyone, however, nor do I wish to stay here, living in blind denial day after day. That was what I was admiring. How you can live like that and keep your sanity, it's amusing."

"I'm not in denial." Hina refuted with a glare, but it was ignored.

"That reminds me, remember how you kept rambling about how the police were going to come save us." Byakuya rhetorically asked. "Tell me, how is that plan going? Because, it seems to me that there's no sign whatsoever of any such rescue."

There was noticeable tensing in many of the others at his remark, though none could deny what the rich jerk was saying. It was true though, it had already been quite some time since their abduction, well over what it would take for someone to have taken notice and called the local law enforcement. By all accounts, there should have been some kind of rescue operation going on, especially considering some of their number being very famous and some that others would throw up quite a fuss over their disappearance.

"W-Well…that's just…" Hina struggled to mount a rebuttal, but even she had to concede the point. "I wonder what actually happened?"

"It's strange, that's true." Kyoko admitted, her hand to her chin in thought. "There's no way that the police wouldn't have noticed by now. We are right in the middle of a major urban area after all."

"The police suck!" Hifumi suddenly declared, completely unaware of Kyoko and Taka's eye twitching in response or the slight nod of agreement from Mondo and Leon.

"On the contrary." Celeste voiced her disagreement, her voice calm yet carrying a tone of distress. "It might be that the mastermind is just that powerful, to take control of even the police…"

That was a theory that certainly had an effect of giving them chills. The idea that their captor was really powerful enough that even the ones in charge of protecting the peace would turn a blind eye to this abduction of such a large number of students was terrifying. Most of them were quick to deny it internally, not wanting to hang on to the idea, but that didn't stop it from scaring them quite a bit.

"Oh!" Hiro suddenly spoke up with remembrance as he realized something. "This might not be related but…"

He was abruptly cut off by Toko's very blunt statement of, "Then don't say it."

"Nope, gonna say it." He continued, completely unfazed by her interruption. "So, a couple of nights ago, I was just staring off into the distance by the main hall, when suddenly…I heard it."

"Heard…what?" Chihiro asked, concerned as to what "it" could be.

"Well, I'm not completely sure…" Hiro admitted, as he grabbed his chin with his fingers, trying to think of the best way to describe what he'd heard. "It was a sound that…I don't really know what it was. But if I had to describe it, I guess it sounded kind of like…a construction site, maybe?"

"A construction site?" Makoto repeated with confusion. Why would he be hearing a construction site in a place like this?

"I mean, it might have just been my headache making me hear things. I might be wrong." Hiro admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, his voice conflicted. He was sure that he had heard something, but after saying it out loud, he wasn't feeling as confident that he had actually heard anything at all.

Toko certainly didn't think he did, quickly pointing an accusing finger at the pained clairvoyant. "You d-definitely made it up! I-it must have been the marbles rolling around in y-your hollow head clacking together."

Anything that could have been said to refute her claim was cut off with the sudden shout of a very familiar, very hated voice belonging to a certain bear. "While I wouldn't say that you're completely off the mark regarding Yasuhiro's head, I doubt that he's wrong in his claim."

As one, the student's eyes snapped over to the podium on stage just in time to watch the despised form of their half and half headmaster as he leapt onto the stage, flapping his stubby arms at the peak of his ascent before abruptly plopping down on his plush behind. Had it not been who it was, some of them might have admitted that it looked a bit goofy to watch.

"He's arrived." Kyoko was the first to speak, her expression grim as she glared at the one who claimed to be their headmaster.

"What Hiro heard _could_ have heard was construction, but it could also have been an explosion." Monokuma hedged, his words causing the students to slowly tense up at the sickeningly joyful tone in the bear's voice. "It could also have been the sound of a machine gun! That could sound like construction in the right circumstance!"

The twisted bear then laughed his equally twisted laugh, his paws clutching his stomach as it roared and made a sliver run down the student's backs. Kyoko, the only one able to fully hide her anxiety spoke up. "What are you talking about?"

"Ah-ah-ah!" the bear reprimanded with a wave of his paw. "No spoilers! I've said all I will on the matter and that's that. It's a secret little secret."

"Fine then." The amnesiac girl stated, knowing that there would be no point in perusing the thought, though she internally filed away that little bit of information for later either way. "Let's move on to something you can tell us; why did you call us here?"

"Getting right to the point, are we?" he replied rhetorically as he finally stood up from his sitting place. "Very well, I'll tell you. But first, mind if I vent a little?"

"Do we have a choice?" Leon muttered, to which he was given a reply from the equally deadpanned Junko, "I'm thinking, no."

If Monokuma had heard them, he made no comment about it, choosing instead to begin pacing back and forth on the stage. "See, I've been having a bit of a problem staying motivated recently. I'm always feeling super low on energy, like I could just pass out and hibernate for a year. Even my stitching is starting to lose its sheen and luster. I'm thinking, maybe it's because of this whole, gung-ho attitude that's been going on for a while now. It's so, so, _so_ super-duper _boring_. I need some kind of stimulation, something to get the ol' brain pumping out adrenaline from the excitement and danger."

He suddenly turned to address them with a deadpanned tone, "Listen, let me be frank, there hasn't been a blackened yet, and I am tired of waiting for you idiots to do it yourself, so I've decided that it's time to give you guys another spine-tingling motive."

As one, the entire student body tensed up. "M-Motive…?" Makoto muttered in terror as he and the others vividly recalled the last motive he'd given them. Both he and Leon's eyes unconsciously moved to glance over at the quivering form of the last person to have given in to the last of Monokuma's little motives. Justifiably, she shivered as she dropped her head, her eyes staring at the location of her wounds she'd received from when she'd given in to the sight of her friends and idols in a state of unconsciousness, and potential death.

Her mind was awash with grief even as her left hand reached over to grip her injured arm, just above the black band that signified her survival with every beat of her heart. She couldn't focus, her mind running over the events again in her mind in a rushed mess of pictures. The terrible images were too fast though, and each one started to blur together in a terrible mishmash of rage, pain, loss, suffering, and despair. The only thing that kept her from falling off of the deep end into an inky abyss of her own mind's self-made prison was when she felt someone shaking her shoulder to get her attention.

Her gaze slowly followed the arm to its source, and at the end she found the concerned gaze of the musician wannabe, his eyes full of worry and compassion. For a brief moment, she didn't know what to think. Was he asking her if she would be giving in to their captor's whims yet again? The very idea hurt her more then she wanted to admit, no matter how understandable it was.

But, it was then that she realized that he was actually looking at her broken wrist and she realized, no, he was worried about her, not what she'd do. He was worried that she was hurt, or that her injury had acted up again as it had been prone to do. He was worried for her, not of her, and that realization had her unconsciously calm down. She wasn't able to say anything, but she did still place her good hand on his in a vague sign of reassurance that, no she would be fine.

Leon gave her a slight nod in response, but said nothing. He didn't need to.

While this was all going on, Monokuma had been getting angry at Makoto for insinuating that he was trying to drive them to murder. "The cheek! The absolute gall! How can you say such a mean thing!?"

"It doesn't matter what you say!" Taka stated with absolute confidence. "We will not allow anyone to give in to your coercions of murder!"

"Yeah!" Mondo shouted as well, his fist raised proud and strong as he supported his bro in defiance of the bear. "Don't underestimate the strength of our bonds, damnit!"

Unfortunately, it had little effect on their half black, half white foe. If anything, their words seemed to bore the creature. "Uh huh, yeah, sure. Whatever you say. It'll just make it all the more exciting when you eventually give into the temptation of kill, kill, killing."

The bros both grit their teeth at the casual dismissal of their determination, but were unable to say anything about that because Monokuma continued, though with notably more pep. "Alright, I see that words won't sell you so, let's begin with this!"

From somewhere behind his back, he whipped out a thick envelope to show off for the class that carried a name in fancy calligraphy. Before anyone could even hope to read it, the automaton flicked its wrist to reveal that the one was actually many concealed behind the first. Waving his new impromptu fan before his face, Monokuma regarded the students with a hearty chuckle.

"Inside each of these little envelopes is a little something for each of you. They're named so do your best to find your own, don't want someone taking what's yours after all. You're free to do what you will with them, but if you can't hide your curiosity, then feel free to have a look see inside." With that cryptic remark, he unceremoniously tossed the pile of letters in their direction where they slowly floated to the ground. Though there was hesitation, each of the students stepped forth one by one and grabbed the one with their name on it.

It was a quiet yet tense moment for Makoto as he held his letter, wondering, yet terrified to think of what could be hidden within the envelope bearing his name. His hands, oh how they quivered as he tried not to panic, his imagination starting to run wild with theories about what could be held within the confines of his letter. He glanced about seeing many of the same expressions of uncertainty on the other's faces. No one knew what to do, nor how to act.

Should they just throw the letters away? Should they see what was inside? The uncertainty of what they should do gnawed at them. Monokuma said they could do what they wanted with them, but with how he wasn't leaving, it was clear he wanted them to open the envelopes. Did they dare listen, did they trust that this wouldn't blow up in their faces like the videos before this?

Makoto glanced over to Sayaka, her envelope held in her good hand thanks to Leon retrieving it for her. She didn't seem to know what to do with it either it looked like, her gaze lost in her thoughts. Would there be another of them to fall into their captor's manipulations like she had nearly done if they did this. He wanted to say, no. He didn't believe there would be, but unless he looked, he could ever tell for sure.

Though he was scared, Makoto swallowed down his fear as best as he could and made his decision. He quickly opened the envelope, his sweaty hands shaking hard as he tried not to rip the folded paper inside. Taking it out, he quickly unfolded it, not giving himself a chance to think lest he back down, and took a good long look at the first line on the paper.

" _Makoto Naegi wet the bed till he was in fifth grade._ "

"Geck!" His body tensed up, his cheeks flushed with modification and shame, while the rest of his face went white with horror. How on earth did someone find out about that! That was something that only his close family members should have ever known about! "H-How…!?"

"W-What…What is it Makoto?" He was caught off guard by Hina approaching him from behind with concern in her eyes, and in an embarrassed panic he quickly slapped the paper to his chest to hide its contents. The suddenness of the action only made the girl flinch back and the others to snap their eyes to him, making him feel mortified and horrified.

Before anyone could say anything, the bear on stage gave off a loud guffaw that made his and his class's gaze wander back over to the two-toned monster as it said, "Wait, wait, wait. Keep going, it gets better."

' _There's more!?_ ' the luckster shouted in his mind as he slowly, reluctantly brought the paper back up to see if what the demented toy was saying was true. His curiosity, far out weighing his caution.

" _Makoto Naegi didn't get in to Hope's Peak just by lottery, he also sabotaged the original winner of his title by burning their acceptance letter._ "

…What? He…he did what? He hadn't been the first one to win the lottery? What was…he didn't remember burning anyone's…

And like a flash, it hit him. The worst day he'd ever had, when his friends had conned him into getting everyone drinks. Through a series of events so convoluted that he still had trouble wrapping his mind around it, one of the cans had caused a thief, who'd stolen a mailman's motorcycle, to crash. This in turn somehow caused a spark to hit the cycle's gas which caused the entire thing to explode, taking with it whatever had been on it.

Was that what this was referring too? If it was, then it was completely off basis! It was an accident! He hadn't meant to do that, it was just a bad stroke of luck that made that happen. Yeah, it might have been his can, and yeah, he was involved, but he had nothing to do with it!

Just as he was about to fly off the handle and shout about how deliberately misleading the second line had been, he paused when he noticed that there was a _third_ line hidden under the fold of the paper that he had almost missed. With confusion, and a bit of annoyance, he continued to read.

" _Someone has a crush on Makoto Naegi."_

"…Huh?" Someone…on him? What was this…?

Any further musings were once again cut short by the baleful laughter from the ever so despised Monokuma. The bear had changed positions while he wasn't looking, now laying on its plushy belly with its head propped up on its paws. "Figured it out yet?"

"Huh…?"

"I'm talking about your special letter." The bear elaborated as it lazed about, its stubby legs lazily kicking behind it as it stared at the luckster. "The one full of embarrassing secrets and memories you're holding."

The bear suddenly rolled back up into a sitting position without any preamble, and continued. "As Makoto has just discovered, inside your little letters you will find that contain three very important, very _secret_ dark memories and secrets. The first one, is a memory that is something embarrassing that you most likely wouldn't want anyone but close friends and family to know about. Nothing too bad, obviously. Just something to keep in mind. The _second_ one, however, is something that you did that you are ashamed of. Something that you have either done, had a hand in, or were directly involved in that would totally get you in trouble with the cops were they to get out; or at the very least would get you a few nasty looks. You might not even have been aware of doing it."

But just as the others began to glance down at their own letters, Monokuma dropped another bombshell in their laps. "The last one on the other hand, is something even more fun. It is in fact, one of the embarrassing secret or memory of someone else in this school!"

Makoto and everyone else's eyes shot wide open as his eye's drifted back to the letter in his hands. "S-Someone's…?"

"Of course, those secrets are written in a way that prevents you from knowing who they belong too." Monokuma elaborated, "But I guarantee that the secret you find, is just as real as the other two! Furthermore, the third secret may or may not be one of the ones written on one of the other's letters, but it is still someone's dark, _embarrassing_ secret!"

For what far from the first time, every single person in the gym tensed up with fear as they looked down at their own envelopes. The idea that someone had not only dug up their secrets of the past, but that they had given away one of those secrets to someone else in this room. That certainly made them feel a bit more anxious. Even though Monokuma said that they wouldn't be named, it did nothing to limit the terror and embarrassment of having your dirty laundry exposed to others against your will.

But that still raised a question, what secrets did he have?

For some of them, that in itself was enough to root their feet in place. Many of them knew very well of what their darkest secrets might have been. Most of them had gone to incredible lengths to hide their secrets in the deepest, darkest pit they could find before burying it under a metaphorical ton of cement so that it never surfaced again. So, hearing that someone had unearthed those long thought dead relics to display them for another filled them with dread and horror.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Kyoko was the first to make a move. Though none of the others were aware of her reasoning, she made to open her envelope. This little paper would give her a clue, a hint into her past that she was so desperate to uncover. Even if it was something she was potentially going to feel embarrassed by, it meant nothing to her. If it could solve even one little thing she had been desperate to learn the truth of, then she could handle any kind of dirt found in here.

She knew just from the sounds of paper being ruffled that some of the others had started opening their own papers, likely spurred on by a mixture of her and Makoto already opening their letters and their own morbid curiosity to learn just what was contained in their own papers. A part of her felt guilty about that, but it was ruthlessly snuffed out by the fact that, even had she not, someone else would have opened theirs to learn just what was said about them.

Pulling out her letter, and making sure that no one behind her she brought the page up to look at the first line.

" _Kyoko Kirigiri has amnesia and cannot remember her talent, nor her past."_

She frowned deeply at that. No, that she knew. she was very familiar with that fact, but she couldn't deny that it was true. She was rather embarrassed about that, it was true, but it was mostly frustration she felt about not having any information then a source of humiliation. Irritated, she moved on to the next one.

" _Kyoko Kirigiri wares custom made gloves to hide the large amount of burns and scars she got when she was still an amateur."_

That was…marginally more helpful, but it was still ultimately useless to her. She had figured that it had to be something to that effect when she had looked under her gloves at the end of the first day and found the sickly purple skinned hands underneath. At the time, she had been horrified, completely transfixed on the at least few year-old scars decorating the burned flesh. Overtime though, that horror died down for confusion and a desire to lean about why exactly her hands were like that.

This letter, while it did nothing to say what exactly happened, at the very least helped her narrow down a list. Any information is good information, no matter how small it was. Sure, it wasn't exactly what she had wanted to find, but it was better than nothing at all.

With that, there was only the secret that belonged to someone else in the room. She wanted to scoff. She had no intention of looking at it, whatever the others had hidden from the world wasn't her business to see. But just as she was about to fold it up and slip the letter into a pocket, the paper flopped open just a little bit more and her eyes instinctually followed. Then, her eyes widened at what was concealed and against her will she found herself staring at the words that told of someone's dark secret. A secret so horrible, she didn't know how to respond.

On the other side of the room, another party was looking at his own letter with nothing short of horror on his face. His hands shook as he clutched the letter in a death grip and sweat dripped down his face at was it revealed about him, the first two secrets being something he vehemently wished to hide…

" _Despite his claim to the contrary, Leon Kuwata actually loves baseball. What he actually hates is practice. He just says he does to pick up chicks."_

That in itself was bad in itself, he had spent a lot of time already doing everything in his power to hide that fact. He had built up his entire reputation on how much he hated the sport he was best at ever since he learned that girls liked musicians more than athletes and he had wanted to strike while the iron was hot. But as much as he really didn't want anyone to know about that, the second one was something that he truly wished to never hear again.

" _Leon Kuwata has a cousin that is both obsessed with him and wishes to be his wife."_

Why? Why was this coming up again? How in the world did the mastermind find out about that? He had thought he'd managed to bury that secret when he made her promise never to tell anyone. That was the other reason he had been so against practicing, so that he could avoid her advances. Kanon, his cousin, had somehow gotten it into her head that he would be the perfect husband for her, despite the facts that not only were they related, he only saw her as family, a little sister at best. But his insistent remarks did nothing to dissuade her, if anything she took it as a challenge to overcome to earn his love. This determination eventually led her to deciding to become the coach of his middle school baseball team in an effort to be closer to him.

However, that only led to him doing everything in his power to avoid the practice games to avoid her embarrassing and mortifying advances. At the main games he didn't have to worry about it because she knew better then to distract him then, otherwise it risked ruining the game. She wasn't so dense that she would risk his career, but that was only to keep him from completely giving up on his future.

In truth, the pretty girl he'd met that told him she only dated musicians was only a single nail in the coffin for his athletic career. The rest was from just how possessive and overwhelming Kanon was whenever she was near him. It was far too much for him to handle, and as a result of her taking over as the team's manager it tainted his love for the sport. Whenever he thought of baseball, thoughts of Kanon weren't far behind.

Now, that wasn't to say he didn't love her, but only as a little sister. He had no interest, want, nor desire to hook up with her.

The only other thing worthy of note was the third entry, the secret belonging to someone else. He did feel a bit bad about looking, after all things tended to be considered secret for a reason, but that feeling was overpowered by his curiosity. So, with shaky hands full of anticipation for learning what might be hidden he pressed on to open the letter all the way. Surely nothing could be as bad as his secret, right?

" _Someone here once slew an entire school building full of people."_

…What?

Throughout the gymnasium the others let out large and loud gasps of shock and horror at what terrible secrets that were being shown to them, both at their own and what was said about the others. Hina nearly screamed at what hers held, the whole thing far too embarrassing for her as she clutched the paper close, her eyes wandering as she worried if anyone had seen what she held. Taka was especially vocal about his horror as he demanded half unbelieving, half concerned where on earth the mastermind had learned about his secrets. Celeste and Byakuya seemed to be in a competition to see who could simultaneously portray the most anger on their faces without actually showing anger, while Mondo looked just about ready to leap right at the bear in a blind bloodlust rage. Hifumi was practically sweating buckets at what his told him, while poor Chihiro looked like she was at the brink of tears once again.

Toko looked the worst off out of all of them, surprisingly. Her eyes had started going bloodshot from how intensely she was staring at the paper in her grasp. Her small hands quivered as they clawed into the edges of the paper and threatened to tear through. Her wire-framed glasses had started to slip down her nose, but she was completely unconcerned in her despair.

Briefly, she glanced over at the richest boy here, hoping that he would be understanding. After all, she had already confessed one of these secrets to him not that long ago in complete confidentiality. Surely, he would have an idea of what she should do.

To her joy, as if he had heard her heartfelt thoughts, the moment she locked her gaze on his form he turned to look at her as well. Her beloved would obviously have a way to protect her horrifying secret, her secret identity and the trauma that it constantly held over her head like the blade of a guillotine. Unfortunately, the moment her hopes began to soar on the notion that he would be doing anything to assist her in her time of need, they were dashed open the ground like the brittle flakes of a throw piece of fine china when his face developed into a loathsome sneer made complete with him looking away with a particularly baleful scoff that made her battered and bleeding heart skip a beat.

All the while, another had already crushed her paper in her grasp, the words written on the white sheet of paper filling her with a mixture of shame…and regret. Though her training allowed her to sooth the raging tide of her mind, it did nothing to sway the potential eruption bubbling below the surface, waiting for her to let down her guard. But Sakura was not one to let herself be controlled, she was the one to be in control so that, when the time was right, she could show her truest of might's.

Sayaka was the only one who held no major movement that belayed her terror, fear or shame. Her face was cast down, her eyes on the thing in her hand, but there was none of the strong emotion that gripped her soul like it did the others. For unlike them, she had not opened hers.

There was a couple of reasons for this. For one, she already had a good idea of what they would claim was her dark, embarrassing secret and memory. The two things she would like to have never heard of ever again. The first of which was a swimsuit magazine that she had agreed to model for as a publicity stunt. The whole thing, aside from the cover page, was an entirely embarrassing and depraved collective of her and her bandmates in very revealing and even somewhat lewd poses and swimsuits that could barely be call swimsuits in most cases for how little they covered. The only saving grace was that they had only made a small amount of them, and they'd published even fewer so the circulation cycle was very short.

Didn't stop some of the more corrupt members of management from selling copies of the quickly discontinued issue for a small fortune per mag.

The other reason she didn't see what Monokuma had on her was even simpler than that. She couldn't open it because her dominant hand was the same as her broken wrist.

After a short time of this panic, this despair, they were abruptly silenced by the malevolent laughter of the hated bear on stage. "You all have twenty-four hours. If there isn't a blackened within that time then…Well, I guess I'll just have to take every single secret you have and broadcast them to the world! I'll post them all on every website and forum online. I might even get one of those vans with a loudspeaker into central square and start spilling the beans! Now isn't that embarrassing!?"

As if just to make things worse, a despicable gleam seemed to fill the bear's red eye as it continued. "No, no. That's not nearly enough. Let's make it _spicier_! If there isn't at least one person dead by the nighttime announcement tomorrow, I will announce to everyone here one secret per person still alive over the intercom!"

* * *

 **Huh. I wonder where she's going with this. Strange.**

 **Oh well, it's probably nothing. Anyway, it looks like we've got a new motive people. Time to watch the gang try and keep themselves from killing each other.**

 **Still, it's kinda strange. I wonder what Hiro was hearing. If you recall, Old Junko would have been using the school's heavy defenses to** _ **expel**_ **the teens would-be rescuers, but this one doesn't want that. So why would he hear gun fire?**

 **Well, it's not like it'll effect the story too much. She's not involved with most of the outside world, so it shouldn't matter.**

…

…

…

 **Still, how about we see what happened…on the outside. Call it a…bit of idle curiosity.**

 **Shall we?**

* * *

Omake: Accidental game master

( _Two days ago)_

Just outside of Hope's Peak Academy school grounds, just across the street in fact, an elderly man stared at the building off into the distance, just past the familiar land that he had been so accustomed too. Past the fountain that dominated the center of the grounds park. Beyond the dying trees that surrounded the entirety of the massive building that had been so important to him for much of both his life and career. He stared at the school that he had put so much of his life into protecting and helping prosper to the height of prosperity.

The very same one that he had been forced to watch fall.

The man sighed, his gaze full of melancholy as he peered through the reinforced windows of the massive truck to look at the place that had once been the source of bringing the best minds of the next generation together, the place that had been converted into a sanctuary in these times of great despair, and just recently revealed to have been turned into a trap to make those within participate in a game of murder. He ignored the dozens of people wandering about the vehicle, each one decked out in a suit and gasmask, specially designed to counteract the toxic pollution that had turned the once blue skies a horrifying red. The man also ignored the sound of the other vehicles rolling around, each one full of hundreds of people dedicated to the cause. He even ignored the dozens upon dozens of half white, half black bears roaming about the campus grounds in various outfits, shapes, and sizes.

How long had it been since he had been forced to leave her behind, the very school he had once held in his mind as his own home. The place he had dedicated decades of his life and loyalty into only to pass it on to another who he thought could run it in his stead. It had to have been well over a year now, that much he was sure of.

He couldn't help but feel that he could have done something to stop this. That he could have prevented this despair that now engulfed the world. If only he had been a little more cautious, if had just listened too…

His thoughts were cut off by the sounds of liquid spraying, one of the dozens of decontamination chambers decorating the site that had been retrofitted onto all of the other trucks occasionally spraying the special cleansing chemicals before allowing the person into the truck the elderly man had been reminiscing in. In a mere moment, he saw a figure he knew to be a member of the resistance, much like himself, decked out in the hazmat suits required to live in this twisted world.

"Statuses report." The grizzled aged voice of the commanding officer stated to the new figure in the suit, his tone both worried yet still holding a ton of force that demanded respect.

The person placed their hand up against their chest and they spoke, a clearly female voice came out slightly muffled by the protective mask on her head. "Tengan, sir. Your early. There hasn't been much in the way of movement. The target hasn't made any attempt to remove us from the location, but the troops are getting angsty."

"Understandable." He stated back "However, we have our orders. We are to rescue the hope of the world and annihilate the source of Ultimate Despair."

"I know." She sighed, the serious tone of a soldier momentarily dropped in her disappointment. He knew why of course, while she was impressive and loyal, she would still rather be back with her friends and the man unknowingly in possession of her heart. They all would really, but they knew how important it was for them all in this moment to be here, trying to do their duty to save the children held hostage in the building down the way.

"How goes the most recent attempt to bypass the defenses? You know how important this operation is." He stressed once more, wanting to be certain that she was still fully on board with this. Fortunately, while there was quite a bit of frustration in her voice, she still replied.

"I understand that, but we haven't managed any progress at all."

"None?" He asked, his brow furrowed deeply. It hadn't been long since he had arrived, so it was expected that he wouldn't have known much, but she had been here for over a week now. Surely, she would have reported such failure.

Then again, considering how much she hated disappointing the one in charge of setting up this rescue mission, it wasn't hard to believe that she wouldn't say anything.

"None." She confirmed with her head bowing in shame. "Every single attempt has ended in failure. We try to come from the front, they stop us with the Monokuma. We try from behind, the side, or even the air, same thing. And even when we manage to get anywhere near, the Ultimate Despair uses the hundreds of defenses to hold off our troops long enough for the Monokuma to assault them. We haven't even managed to put more than a dent into their forces either, for every one we take down, it's like ten rise up to take their place. And every time we pull back, the other Monokuma just collect the remains of the broken ones and bring them back to the school. One of the scouts has been swearing up and down that he's fought the same freaking Monokuma at least three times now."

"Any casualties?"

"Surprisingly, not many." She said with her gloved hand raising up to where her face was covered with her pointer finger pressed against her cheek. Had she not been wearing the mask, he would likely have seen her face looking rather inquisitive. "We've lost only four of our scouts due to their injuries, bleeding out. However, every assault has ended in nearly all members being heavily injured, many left in critical condition. The problem is there's no consistency, sometimes we can get at least to the front gate before the Monokuma start to show up, but other times we aren't even near the property line before the guns start firing everywhere. Every time we think we've gotten an edge, it turns out that we're horribly wrong. I'll be honest, it's actually rather scary how quickly they're able to counter us. With how sporadic their actions are, I'm surprised we haven't lost a lot more. Especially after one of the Monokuma just randomly exploded. We've been lucky thus far."

"Luck…I highly doubt that." As interesting that theory would be, he knew better then to believe that was the reason. "If there is one thing I've picked up on in these times of great turmoil, it's that those who worship despair always have a reason for their actions, especially if it results in the destruction of another's hope. Tell me, how are the survivors?"

"They're recovering, but we're running out of medical supplies." She stated, her hand dropping back to her side as she made her report. "Even the things we got from the Ultimate Pharmacist are starting to wear thin. If things keep up, we might have to retreat and regroup."

Kazuo nodded, "Exactly. This may just be an effort to dissuade our efforts and demoralize our troops. And I'm afraid to say that, it may very well succeed. With medical supplies in such high demand worldwide, and our own troops spread so thin, we cannot afford a battle of nutrition in the most literal sense of the word. The Ultimate Despair knows this. That is why they do not aim for death, but to hinder. They are deliberately trying to make us have to cease our charge by forcing us to waste our valuable resources."

A deep frown found its way onto his face as he considered that and his hand meandered up to lightly tug at the gray beard on his face. "Unfortunately, it's working, and there's not much we can do to stop it lest we lose more of our forces. We will simply have to hold our ground until we can acquire more back up. Make sure to inform the troops as soon as possible, Yukizome."

"Understood." And with her final word, the women headed for the door, on her way to report the change in plan to the troops. For a moment, the slightly hunchbacked man watched her, concerned for her wellbeing, but he shrugged it off and turned back to stare at the school he had once treasured so dearly. Chisa Yukizome was a strong girl, she could take care of herself.

"Whoever they are, they have to be the greatest threat we've ever seen. They truly are worthy of their title of Ultimate Despair."

(Meanwhile, in the school data center)

"I have no idea what any of this stuff does." I said out loud as I nudged one of buttons on the desktop with my little finger, trying to figure out what all these buttons did. Well, that's what I was trying to do, but it seemed that nothing that I did caused anything to change. At one point I could have sworn I heard an explosion somewhere, and even the sound of gunfire, but it had been very muffled so I wasn't quite sure. Yet, no matter what it was I heard, I never saw anything new on the screens. Maybe I was just imagining it.

Honestly, if it weren't for those sounds telling me that it was doing something, I'd have thought the computer was busted.

Still, every so often I found myself drawn to mess with these buttons. I don't know what it is, but I found myself obsessed with this at times. It was like I was trying to uncover a new mystery that had never been expected to be heard or seen. It made me feel just a little excited every time I started messing around with it, just trying to find out whatever code there was that might access something undiscovered, even though I knew nothing I pushed seemed to do anything.

 _But_ that didn't make it any less irritating that I couldn't exactly see what they did. "Oh well, if it's not on screen, then maybe it doesn't matter what I press. I mean, it's not like I'm hurting anyone."


	26. A revelation of Despair

" _Oh_ , why did he have to bring _that_ up?"

Asahina bemoaned as she floated lazily in the school's pool, all of her usual energy completely drained from her. Her emotions had been fried, to be blunt, and all that was left was a feeling of burnt out depression. It was so bad that she couldn't even find the motivation to swim more than ten laps in the pool instead of her usual hundred. So instead she floated in a lazy drift, her face, bust, and stomach the only part of her sticking out of the chlorinated waters as her legs slowly kicked to help keep her afloat and her eyes stared blankly at the celling, absolutely unfocused.

The only solace she had was that, despite the trying time, she still had company.

"Hina, thou know that there is naught that can be done." Her best female friend, possibly best friend period, Sakura stated from her own similar laid-back position, though she was moving much more then Hina was to stay afloat due to her heavy muscles weighing her down.

"I know."

"Monokuma will do as he pleases. The ursa seeks to see us give in to his manipulations, to give in to the desire to leave even if it costs the lives of our comrades. I fear he will do anything to see that take place."

"Yeah." Hina agreed with the burly woman afloat with her, feeling comport in her presence. A small smile found its way to her face as she turned her head slightly to look at her friend, ignoring the water getting in her ear as she did.

"Hey Sakura?" She softly said, "Thanks for staying with me while like this. I know you'd rather be training with that tire then this."

"Nonsense. There is nothing that I would prefer more than helping my friend."

Hina smiled just a bit wider at that. That was one thing she could always trust about Sakura, she would always look out for her.

She tried to avoid sighing again, but she couldn't help it. What Monokuma had done to them, to her, it was horrible. It was bad enough that he had brought out their dirty laundry, but to outright say them aloud with the express promise of sharing it with the world. Even now, despite having torn her letter apart and scattering its remains through every other trash can she could find, the words that had been on it still appeared whenever she closed her eyes, and embarrassing prank that she still regretted to this day.

" _Aoi Asahina once slathered a rival's swimsuit in laxatives."_

It was a stupid whim of hers when she was still a novice swimmer. She had been having difficulty defeating a rather experienced swimmer, two years her senior, nothing that major. However, the girl had the single most obnoxious personality of any girl she'd ever met, constantly bragging and gloating over her incredible times and how she was practically guaranteed a position into Hope's Peak Academy all while putting down anyone and anyone who couldn't beat her lap time; Hina especially. Worst yet, it was a well-known, yet unproven fact that she was constantly slipping laxatives into people's food before practice whenever they slighted her, either herself or by seducing someone into doing it for her. One of these people she'd spiked had actually been a friend of Hina's, and she got threatened to be kicked from the swim team for contaminating the pool, so it was personal for the ultimate swimmer. So, one day when Hina had been left alone in the locker room with the girl's swim suit, in a moment of surprising vindictiveness, tried to repay the favor.

Unfortunately, Hina hadn't known how laxatives worked at the time, so she slathered the girl's swimsuit in the same chocolate laxatives she spiked people with in a hope that it would do something. It hadn't exactly worked as she'd planned, it didn't even do anything to her. However, when the girl had jumped in the pool and chocolate started wafting off of her in waves, it still managed to catch people's eyes. And in the poorly discarded wrappers being found in the girl's locker and bag it wasn't long before people put two and two together.

It didn't make Hina feel good though. She hadn't meant for the bully to get expelled and even banned from every swimming pool within a hundred miles of the school, she just wanted her to stop being such a jerk. But that was a minor concern compared to the second thing it had listed.

" _Aoi Asahina regularly strips down on her balcony to preform Kanpu masatsu, and flashes her neighbors in the process."_

Oh god, she could feel her cheeks burn even now. It wasn't even because she had been called out on preforming her daily towel treatment. It was how blatantly misleading it had been written. It made her seem like some sort of pervert who got off on being an exhibitionist! But that wasn't true, in fact up until now she hadn't even realized that she had been essentially flashing every one of her neighbors and giving them a free show every single day. She felt utterly mortified now that it had been pointed out.

But as embarrassing as that all was, she was still more concerned by what other secret had been written down for her eyes only.

" _Someone here regularly kills and harms people without remorse in a vain attempt to earn their sibling's approval."_

That…that was just…horrible. Who would do such a thing? Who would ever think that hurting someone, _killing people_ , would be something that someone would want them to do!? Who would think that doin such a terrible, horrible act would make someone like them, let alone a sibling. The whole idea was absolutely insane and made her feel sick to her stomach.

Worst still, if Monokuma was to be believed, then it was one of them that held such a twisted, corrupt idea in their head. One of them held this disturbed belief that they had to kill people to please their sibling, and had no qualms about doing so. They could and would kill everyone here without a single care for the lives they snuffed out.

Hina dunked her head under the water and let out a shout of frustration. No! the bear had to be lying about that. They were all friends here, all working together in an effort to escape together. There was no way that one of them would willingly kill anyone and not feel anything! Even Byakuya, for all of his pompous attitude, would struggle to get over killing someone. Hopefully.

It had to be another one of the mastermind's tricks. He was just trying to make them doubt in one another, forget about the bonds they'd made or were currently forging. He had practically said as much!

* * *

Silence.

All was silent after Monokuma's announcement. The promise that he would be telling the world, everyone, their darkest, most hidden secrets. Shameful, horrible things that they had either done, or said that they wanted no one, _no one_ , to ever find out about. For if they were, they all knew that they would suffer from complete and utter humiliation. What was worst being that, at least one of those secrets would be announced for all of the captive students to hear. And as if that hadn't been enough, the thing that made them all nervously glance at each other was that he had given someone here one of those secret, and no one knew who had which secret. It made them feel conflicted, concerned as to what the others had been exposed to.

"So? What do you think?" The frustratingly terrible bear mocked, "There're all pretty terrible, trust me. None of you want me to reveal this stuff to the world, right?"

"…Wait, that's it?"

Monokuma turned to look at the luckster who'd spoken with a confused tilt of the head. "Saywha?"

"Well, it's definitely not anything I'd like people to know about." Makoto admitted, his face scrunched up a bit at the idea. The first two alone were pretty bad enough, he was almost afraid of whatever else the mastermind had scrounged up on him and the others. Still though, "But we'd never kill someone over something like that!"

"He's right!" Taka interjected with force, his fist clenched to show just how determined he was. "Your plan was doomed from the start! No one would murder someone over something like that!"

The bear seemed to have been caught off guard, actually flinching back from their proclamations. "O-Oh? Really? Is it because you view your secrets as another connection to the outside world? That, for better or for worst, those memories allow you find reason to want to leave? I mean, I have all sorts of things that I'd absolutely do anything to keep from getting out, so I assumed you were all the same."

The bear then let out an absolutely depressing sigh that almost made some of their most soft-hearted feel sorry for him. Almost, being the key word since whatever sympathy they nearly raised had died with the master puppet's next words. " _Man_ , and to think I had put so much time into this. So many hours, wasted."

"I'll say." Leon agreed, doing his best to hide the sweat pouring down his face.

"Oh…Oh? Oh!" Monokuma suddenly shouted, and there as his mood seemed to rise the others felt their spirits fall that much further. "Oh, now I remember! The other thing!"

It was with no small amount of concern him voice when Hifumi repeated, "Other thing?"

"That's right! The whole reason I had the third part of your motives put in! You see, all of this bonding nonsense has started to piss me off, so I decided to show you all just how little you should trust in one another. As I've shown you, there are two really nasty secrets of yours, and more, about to be told to the world. If you want to stop it, then someone has to die before twenty-four hours pass. However, being a lover of options as I am, I've decided to give you the opportunity to avoid spilling the beans on _one_ of those two secrets."

"You see, the unnamed secret does in fact belong to one of you here, and since everyone loves a good mystery, I'm giving each and every one of you a chance to solve one on your own. Exciting, right? Your own personal mystery! If you can find out who exactly your secret belongs to before my announcement, then I will allow you to choose which of your two secrets will not be announced."

"A-Are you serious!?"

"Deathly so." Monokuma stated with a darker, more serious voice that actually made them feel real terror beyond what they'd been exposed to thus far. And he was just getting started. "Oh, but you can't just randomly guess. That would take away the whole point. Instead, you have to bring forth proof of who's secret you've uncovered. It can be anything from pointing out a reaction from them, or actual evidence to support your theory. If you can get them to confess on your own, that counts too! I'll even accept it if you blatantly tortured someone for the answer! Whatever it takes to keep one of your secrets, secret."

"You son of a bitch!" Mondo growled as he took a threatening stomp forward ready to clobber the bear and damn the consequences. Taka took a step forward himself, his fists clenched hard as he raised one forward with a determined glare. "Don't mock our commitment! We have no intention of ever doing such appalling things!

"Oh well." Monokuma stated as he stood back upright, completely disregarding the slight. "Guess I'll just have to expose those secrets of yours tomorrow. Maybe that'll make me feel a bit better. So depressed…"

And with that, Monokuma left, taking with him the distraction of his presence and leaving them all to stare at the envelopes and letters still within their grasps. For a while, no one spoke, as if they were afraid that if they said something, anything, it would inspire a revolt so overwhelming that it could not possibly be stopped or contained once it was unleashed. They were struggling to come up with a way to properly describe what they had been forced to bear witness to.

Finally, though with a bit of trepidation in her voice, Hina spoke her opinion. "Well, I don't know what I expected but…maybe we dodged a bullet with this. I mean…" She glanced down at the two secrets that belonged to her and the one belonging to someone else with a conflicted look. "I mean, yeah, I really don't want anyone to learn about this stuff, I mean these are really embarrassing, but I wouldn't kill anyone over this."

"She's right." Taka agreed, "I don't think anyone would ever consider giving in to murder for such a simple thing. In fact, I have a great idea! Why don't we all just confess the secrets in our envelopes right here and now!? That way, we will eliminate any and all motive! Plus! It will also meet Monokuma's scheme of getting us to prevent at least one of our secrets from being found out! And to make it fair for everyone, whoever is the owner of the unnamed secret will then tell us that its theirs, tell us their secrets on their letter, and we can continue like that until everyone is done. Pretty smart, right?"

The was a large amount of reluctance on the other's faces. None of them really wanted to tell anyone these secrets of theirs, the shame would have been too great for them. But, it also made some semblance of sense. If they could stop Monokuma's plan in its track, then the chances of there being a murder would drop significantly. Yes, they would feel embarrassed, but it would be either tell each other, or risk the world learning of their secrets.

Convinced that the others would follow at his side, Taka started. "Okay, my most embarrassing secret is…"

"I don't w-want to hear your s-stupid story!" Toko cut him off just before he could say it, the venom in her voice startling him as well as several of the others. With how quiet she'd been, they hadn't expected her to be so loud all of the sudden. It even derailed Taka's train of thought so thoroughly that all he could manage in rebuttal was a simple, "What? Why?"

"B-Because, I don't…I d-don't want to…t-to talk about it…" the novelist stated, the heat in her voice was gone, but now it was full of terror the likes of which even she hadn't had before now. "I-I don't care what anyone says…I r-refuse to talk about it."

Suddenly her finger snapped out as an accusatory expression appeared, the contempt in her voice practically palpable. "B-Besides, how are we supposed to know that y-you won't just tell us the third person's secret instead of your own, h-huh!?"

Taka recoiled at the suggestion, the idea that he would do such a thing actually stunned him silent. The others weren't much better, though she had only been accusing Taka, the idea was now out in the open and it made them all feel tense. Anyone here could just shout out the hidden secret of someone else and claim it as their own, all while keeping their own secret safe. It they went with Taka's plan, they'd have to trust that everyone would cooperate and tell the others their darkest secret, and that they wouldn't give in to the temptation of speaking about the hidden one instead.

"I would have to agree." Celeste stated, cutting off any of the responses that Taka could have come up with. "We do not know what we have on each other, nor can we trust that we would be honest in our response. Besides, I for one would prefer not to speak of what I've found either. Not because it is embarrassing mind you, rather, it is because it is impossible."

The choice of words intrigued the attention of the open Otaku, and he stated as such. "Well, when you put it like that, now I only want to hear it more. After all, it's just human to want to hear it if someone says it impossible. Come on, it'll be good for you."

"Absolutely not." She denied bluntly, her arms crossed in defiance. Unfortunately, that did nothing to dissuade the interest of Hifumi as he chanted in her ear, coming closer with every word. "Come on, come on, come on."

Finally, with a thick vein in her forehead visibly pulsing, she turned to the podgy teen and with her metal covered finger jabbed into his round nose, she snarled out, "I said I don't want to talk about it, you fat tub of lard!"

The sudden aggression was already enough to catch the poor boy off guard as it was, but the brief loss of her posh accent only accentuated the fear the boy felt for his life as he squealed and back-peddled as fast as his stubby legs could go. Once he was significantly far enough away that she couldn't smell his putrid breath, the gambling queen took a deep breath to calm herself down again, and returned to her neutral expression. While the others stared at her with shock at the abrupt change, they couldn't help but feel that the otaku kinda deserved it.

With that out of the way, the ever so condescending voice of the blond progeny proceeded to grab their attention as he turned on his heel and started to take his leave. "Regardless, I have to agree. It's pointless to discuss about this."

* * *

After that, any discussion regarding the letters quickly turned to a mostly mutual agreement that, no, they would not go through with Taka's plan. Even Mondo, who had been calling the teen his bro, didn't agree, though he'd made it clear that it was solely because everyone else had said no first. He knew when he was outnumbered. The only exception had been Chihiro of all people, though she said she wanted to wait a bit to get a bit stronger first. In the end, they all left without any answers.

"Still, I'm glad you're here Sakura." Hina stated as she pulled her face back out of the water. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

With her face turned to the sky she was unable to see the expression on her friend's face, but she was sure that there was a smile on the buff women's face. After all, with all of the time they'd been hanging out and training together, there was bound to be some kind of bond at the very least.

Unknown to her, however, there was a conflicted expression on the muscular women's face. It was only there for a brief moment, but it was a moment too long in Sakura's mind. Steeling her emotions, she regarded her friend's disclosure with one of her own. "Aye, I feel the same."

Hina's smile became all the brighter, the dark fog of shame of their secrets being possibly exposed pushed aside for the moment. The simple fact that she had such a cool friend like Sakura making her feel much better. The others were great too, of course, with the possible exception of Byakuya and _maybe_ Toko, they were all great friends. Chihiro was super sweet, if a bit shy. Kyoko was mysterious, yet really smart. Hifumi had interesting stories, even though he was very weird. Even Hiro, for all of his stupid stories and really bad smell, was rather interesting to listen to in small doses.

Makoto especially was a really great. He was really easy to talk too, always ready to offer up advice whenever he could, and he was super reliable. His reliability could be best seen during the last trial where he shot down everyone's arguments to help them find the truth. Sure, he stumbled a bit when they found out that it was Sayaka who tried to frame him for murder, but he quickly recovered to revel that Leon had in fact messed with the crime scene. The luckster had been so into it at the end when he ran through the case one last time that she had felt like she was swept away, the truth finally reveled and the culprit now known to everyone. It had been so amazing to see just how dependable the usually more quiet and reserved boy could be in a pinch.

Speaking of Sayaka and Leon, Hina still found herself amazed and somewhat a little scared at their story of lust, fear, attempted murder, and despair. To think that one of them had actually given in to the temptation that damn bear had given them, and worst that the other had tried to hide that fact. It was so terrifying to think about, that two of them almost had died that night, and again when the trial concluded, that she still found herself struggling to talk with the two even though several days had passed.

And with this whole thing about secrets she wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to talk with them, which was a shame because she actually found herself missing the afternoon tea sessions she and all of the girls had been partaking in, as Celeste liked to call it. While she hadn't interacted with Leon all that much, Sayaka had been her friend, or at least she hoped that the musically gifted girl thought the same of her. She actually kinda missed the discussions she and Junko had gotten into with Celeste about various fashions, make up styling techniques, and the one's she liked the most, dietary habits and exercise routines.

Who would have guessed that a fashionista would go on four mile runs in heavy combat boots to keep herself in shape!

She cringed. Poor Junko. She wouldn't be doing that again for quite a while.

That cringe quickly turned into a determined glare. Well, she wasn't going to let a little fear hold her back! After all, "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." – Seneca. She would go and get them all together for their tea once more soon, and they would all have a good time! She'd even get Toko and Chihiro to join in if she had to drag them both to the dining hall!

"I have an idea!" With her new-found determination in hand, she submerged herself into the water and quickly swam to the edge and practically leapt out of the pool like a fish with a loud splash. With water practically pooling at her feet, she turned back to her friend with a pumped-up expression. "No more of this dreary attitude! Let's get the girls together and heave some of that tea again to get our minds off of this whole secrets and murder nonsense! You with me!?"

Sakura was silent for all of three seconds as she contemplated the swimmer's words, before a fond smile formed on her lips. "Aye. It will be nice to relax with the others again. I'm sure that the others likely feel the same."

With that, the large women swam to the edge and in a similar fashion climbed out of the pool with water practically flooding the edge. Taking a moment to wring out her hair, Sakura smiled down at her peppy friend as she started making her way to where they'd laid out their towels, the smaller tanned girl adjusting her school swimsuit where it had started riding up on her as she walked. Once their towels were in hand, the two friends started making their way out of the pool room.

However, with the reminder of the near mutual refusal to expose their own secrets, Hina couldn't help but frown with the reminder of what had also happened at the end. "Hey, do you have any idea what was going on with Hiro?"

"Nay." Sakura denied, a frown growing on her face as well as she tried to think of the reason that had Hiro do what he had.

At had been as they were leaving the gym that one of them, Junko, had noticed that the clairvoyant hadn't looked away from his letter the entire time. Even as everyone else was leaving, he hadn't budged an inch. She had gotten Sakura and Hina's attention when she had noticed and together they had gone to talk with him to see if he was okay.

They hadn't expected it to go as bad as it had.

* * *

For Yasuhiro, there wasn't much of a reason to not feel terrified when it came to secrets. He was a fine collector of the rare and valuable OOPs arts and with that came a lot of secrets that many would want his head to obtain. There were also his many customers, many of whom wanted him to keep quiet about what he'd seen in their futures; some of whom even went as far as to swear him under various forms of blood oaths to outright bribing him to ensure his silence. So, despite his desires to earn lots of money, he felt pretty confident in his ability to keep a secret.

So, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise to say that he was appalled to find out that one of his secrets was about one of his predictions he'd done for a customer.

" _Yasuhiro Hagakure once gave a prediction that has ruined the lives of a famous All-girl Pop-idol group through their manager._ "

Well, that was a bit disheartening to find out.

He wasn't even sure of who exactly this was referring to since he had been with so many influential clients in the past that no one face stuck out. Furthermore, there were even more customers that were one shots that hadn't liked what he was seeing or felt satisfied with the one curiosity and had decided that they wouldn't need his services as a fortune teller again. Those were even harder to remember then the ones that gave him a glance and decided that they wanted nothing to do with him.

But to think that one of his fortunes had ruined someone's life was something that he'd never considered. Sure, his interpretations could be off some of the time, but generally he tried to steer people towards the futures that would make them and others around them live fulfilling lives. Not necessarily happy lives since everyone struggled through life at some point or another, but at least better then it could have been.

So, it was rather disheartening to hear that one of his predictions had hurt someone like that. Had hurt someone at all. His only hope was that it was one of the ones that had skipped out on paying him.

Maybe he could ask Sayaka about it later. She was in an idol group after all, so she likely could point him in the right direction so that he could apologize to whomever his fortune telling had hurt. Then he could offer them a discount reading as an apology. Make it like, twenty percent off or something.

Regardless, while it was sad to know, the first secret at the very least gave him some feeling of elation. At the very least, he knew that he would never kill someone over this. Yes, he felt ashamed for what he'd done, but it wasn't like he was able to change the past at all.

Well, it wasn't like there was anything he'd done that could really come back to bight him in here, now was there?

Confident in his belief, he didn't even think to hesitate to read the second line. After all, there couldn't possibly be anything that the mastermind could dig up on him that would be worst then the first one. Right?

" _Yasuhiro Hagakure owes eight million yen to the yakuza group, Kuzuryu."_

Instantly his breath caught in his throat and he almost crushed the paper in his grasp. His teeth bit into the inside of his cheeks to keep from screaming out in shock.

How could they know about that? He thought he'd covered his tracks so well. There shouldn't be anyone here that could possibly know about his most dangerous debt to date. Did that mean that the one in charge of this killing game was associated with the yakuza gang that wanted his head? It made the most sense to him, and it would explain why all of this horrible stuff was happening to him. They had a grudge against him so of course they would be so cruel to him and those associated with him.

Yeah, that made sense! The yakuza were the ones responsible for this killing game! That was why they could afford to outfit this abandoned school with robot bears that exploded and boobytraps to enforce the rules. He'd figured it all out!

And! That would also explain why Sayaka had stabbed him in the hallway. Clearly, she was working for them and had been told to make it look like his death was a spur of the moment type thing. They must have paid her off somehow and had her try to assassinate him!

A scowl formed on his face at the thought. And to think that he was willing to give her a discount earlier, the traitorous witch! To think that she was working with the mastermind. Well, now that he'd figured her out, he could keep an eye on her to make sure that she never gets another chance at his life!

Unfortunately, as exciting as that was, it also meant that he had to keep his trap shut. If he was right, then that meant that someone else might be on their pay list as well and would try to silence him if he started pointing out the truth to the others. The best thing that he could do is to keep quiet and avoid attracting attention for now.

"Hey, Hiro? You okay?"

The voice of a girl startled his out of his thoughts, and he turned to look at the concerned faces of three of his friends, three girls he knew he could trust. Sweet donut-lover, Hina. Big strong, Ogre. And finally, good old Jun-

* _THUMP-THUMP*_

 _PAIN!_

His hands leapt to his scalp, the sudden spike of pain overwhelming his senses. It was like fire had been put to his scalp and his own skull felt like it was constricting his brain, crushing down on the delicate gray matter like a vice. And within that burning agony, a fuzzy picture manifested itself behind his eye lids.

 _A dark alleyway. The sounds of pouring rain. Three muscular men laying on the ground either unconscious, or dead. With them the wary form of his friend Makoto looking to him. A red eyed woman with waving blond locks took the forefront of his vision as she held the clairvoyant by the front of his collar and stared straight into his eyes with a fire full of promise of his imminent demise._

" _You fucked up, Hiro." She stated to him with cold hard steel in her tone, her grip preventing him from running no matter how he could have struggled. "You made your last mistake today. I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but no more. I've paid your debt, but now that means you owe me those eight million bucks. If it wasn't for him, the guy you were about to sell the organs of, you wouldn't even have the chance to pay me back. And I'm not gonna let you run from it like your other moronic debtors did. From now on, you work when I say you work. You will not spend a single. Fucking. Cent, without my first say so. You won't even be allowed to go to the god damn toilet without my express say so. I don't care if I have to put a god damn pet tracker in your hide. Until you pay me back, you are my_ _ **bitch**_ _. Got it?"_

Hiro had frozen up, his eyes shooting wide open as his jaw dropped. The memory, vision? Whatever it was, it filled his heart with absolute terror. And his head, oh his head! It felt like someone had put it in a vice that was on fire! His body lurched back as if he'd been struck as he stared at the now confused girl before him. It didn't seem like she was aware of it, she'd said nothing about this thus far, so it must have been a vision. But what the hell kind of vision was that!?

It had none of the usual vague symbolism he was used to. It was so clear, so concise and blunt.

Wait. Does that mean he managed to get a higher percentage than his usually did because of his headache? Yeah, that had to be it. There was no other idea he could come up with, so that had to be the case.

But what did that mean? Did it mean that they would be able to escape from this horrible place only for his debtors to catch up with him? That seemed to be the case, otherwise why would he have tried to sell Makoto's organs? And it had to have been Makoto, he was the only one there that made sense since even he wouldn't be so stupid as to try that kind of transaction on one of the very buff looking men in the vision.

However, did that mean that Junko would be the one to save them? Obviously, it seemed like the deal had gone south somewhere for there to have been a need for their rescue, otherwise there wouldn't have been so many injured beefy men lying unconscious on the ground. But, if that was the case then someone had to have rescued them, and he highly doubted that Makoto would have the ability to be that kind of badass, so it had to be Junko who saved them both. That is what she had implied in the vision after all.

But, what did this mean? If this was the future, then that means that not only did he still go to try and pull of this dangerous transaction against his buddy's will, but that he did so knowing that it would get him in hot water with someone much, _much_ more vindictive then even the yakuza. He knew that his predictions weren't a hundred percent accurate, but he would have likely seen something like this before.

And why were her iris red, so bloody red? As far as he'd seen, they were blue. So, why were they red in this vision?

There were too many questions, too many things to think about. He'd never had to interpret so much with such a clear insight before and this headache wasn't doing anything to help! He couldn't stop it. It hurt. It hurt more than anything he'd dealt with before. And the more he looked at her, the girl who would one day save(?) his life, the more intense the pain got!

He…He had to get away. He had to get away from her. Find a place to calm down, to reorganize his messed-up thoughts.

He needed to get to his stash.

But more importantly, he had to get away!

"UHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A primal scream of pain and horror tore its way out of his throat as he gripped his hair in a panic, succeeding in nothing more than making his head hurt even worst. With that failing, he pushed himself up and out of the wheelchair. He could barely feel the twinge in his side acting up, the pain in his head far overpowering it and making it hard to think. He couldn't even hear if anyone had shouted after him from the hammering of his heart in his ears. He threw open the doors to the gym, and rushed through the halls. He didn't even know if he'd run into anyone on his way to his room, all he cared about was getting to his room.

Once there, he slammed the door behind him, and pressed his body to it. His heart pounded in his chest as sweat poured down his face. His lungs burned almost as badly as the space he'd been stabbed in and it hurt to breathe almost as much as the ungodly pain in his head.

He could barely walk any further without his mind swimming when he tried to push himself off of the wall. His vision was no better, the edges going black while the rest of had turned fuzzy and distorted. Despite how he'd run all the way here, his feet felt like lead as he stumbled forward. He barely managed to take a few steps before his legs gave out from the pain in his head and he collapsed onto his carpet floor, barely managing to avoid the various fortune teller junk…Artifacts! That lay on his floor.

And that was where he blacked out.

* * *

Kiyotaka walked through the halls of the second floor with his head slumped down, his gaze on nowhere in particular as he paced the halls of the school lost in thought over the events of the past few hours. It was no exaggeration to say that he was disappointed in the results, though he could see the reasoning behind it. It had just been truly upsetting to hear that none of the others would be willing to go along with his plan to simply talk about their secrets that Monokuma had presented them. He truly believed that he had been on the right track with having them simply read out what the bear had scrounged up on them and get it all over with, like ripping off a bandage.

Maybe he hadn't worded it right. He thought he had, but maybe there was something lost on the others. All he had meant was that each of them would take turns announcing everything on the list and once they got to the third secret then whoever it belonged to could take it from there and recite their secrets. It would be embarrassing airing out all of that dirty laundry, yes, but they could have used it as a bonding moment.

Besides, it wasn't like any of them would be able to go gossiping to anyone. With them all locked up in this school tighter then Fort Knox for the minimum of a year with no way to contact anyone let alone gain access to the media, it wasn't like they could go telling anyone even if they wanted to. Plus, by the time they would get out, he had no doubt that they would all have at least some decorum to not sell out their friends.

That was why he had claimed that the Mastermind had screwed up, because he felt that by playing the secret card this early they had played themselves. With the only risk being that their secrets would be exposed to the world at large, it only made sense for them all to quickly get it all out in the open amongst their peers so that they could get all of their resentments and hostilities taken care of before it could escalate to murder.

If Monokuma had done it about a month or two later he might have been more inclined to believe that someone might resort to such extremes since one of the books on relationships he'd studied claimed that most people learn by that point if they truly would be able to stomach each other's personalities. That was because it was around that point that people start getting more comfortable around each other and the cracks in the first impressions mask start to show. When that happens, that was when the more human parts of who they were truly began to be revealed.

Once the ugly parts became known, only then could the comradery he'd been trying to show the others could truly blossom as they all worked to understand the various quirks and nuances of everyone while also finding a way to compromise and coexist.

Or so the book claimed.

Plus, after that much time had passed, they would also be a lot more restless by that point from being held in this school without any form of natural light and the constant presence of their very understandably unlikeable captor. If there was any point where they would be most likely to lose their morals even momentarily, it would be then.

If he were the sick minded individual running this show, and he was so thankful that he wasn't, he would have done this at this point when they had only just truly started to find frustrations with each other's personalities. Exposing secrets of each other would have been much easier when everyone was already bighting at each other's heels from how stir crazy they would have been at that point. Any later and they would be able to put aside their differences once and for all.

But maybe that was why he did it now instead of later. Yes, they would have been more easily frustrated with each other by then, but that was still a point where they would have truly started to bond as equals. Maybe he feared that they would be able to overcome their petty squabbles quicker if they had been given the time to bond beforehand? That would be the most likely thing that the moral committee board director could think of.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He couldn't allow himself to start doubting in the others now just because of some secrets. It didn't matter if it had been now, tomorrow, next week, or even a month from now. He refused to believe that one of his fellow classmates would fall for such a pathetic scheme.

He needed to relax, to have a chance to reorganize his thoughts. And the best way to do that was to expand his knowledge with a good old-fashioned study session. So, with that in mind, he made his way to the biggest source of information here to relax his mind.

The library.

Now, after what had happened with Byakuya, he and the others had made an unspoken agreement to leave the library alone whenever he was there on his own. It was just easier for everyone in the short term since he had been nothing but irritating to everyone who tried to talk with him. What made it more irritating was that they couldn't even try and take out a book for themselves without him passive aggressively mocking them or bluntly degrading them until they left.

Fortunately for Taka, after Monokuma's blatant threat of exposing their secrets had been made, Byakuya as well as a few others had completely locked themselves up in their rooms and refused to come out for the rest of the day, even going so far as to snatch up some of the snacks from the storeroom to help in this endeavor. On the downside, this made his plan to get them all to all reveal their secrets much more difficult to achieve, but it also made it significantly easier to get some much-needed studying done without the distraction of Byakuya's unwanted snark.

So, with that thought in mind, Taka opened the door to the library and made his way inside.

Once inside, he took a brief moment to stop and inhale through his nose, taking in the calming scent of old but cared for books, dust, and a little hint of Mahogany from the desks and shelves everywhere and instantly felt like the stress of the day fade away. There was just something about that combination of scents that never failed to relax him when he was feeling upset and or anxious. Maybe it was because they let him know that here, in this place, in this sanctuary of peace, he could study to his heart's content without having to worry about such things like, socializing.

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to people, far from it. he would have loved to have someone to discuss any number of topics with. However, as he had admitted to his new Professor Makoto, he wasn't really all that good at keeping the conversation going. He just didn't know of any topics that would keep them interested very long.

Regardless, at least he didn't have to be out of his comfort zone here.

"Hey there Taka. What's up?" he was suddenly and abruptly pulled out of his musings by a voice that he would never have expected to hear in a place like this. A friendly, cheery tone that was both friendly and yet stern in just the right balance and reminded him of his mother. And once he'd opened his eyes, he realized that he wasn't mistaken.

"Ah, Miss Enoshima." Taka politely spoke, once he noticed her sitting in the softly lit room at one of the desks with a book in hand, her crutch leaning right up against her chair as she smiled at him. "What brings you to the library today? And why are you out of your wheelchair?"

It was a bit unusual of her to be here of all places all things considered. After Hiro had taken off, it had been decided that, since he was apparently able to get up on his own and likely wouldn't need the wheelchair anymore that they would give it to Junko since out of all of them she needed it the most. She had expressed thanks, but even as she sat down she told them that she would still use the crutch from time to time till she could walk on her own. They had been supportive of her and both Chihiro and Makoto took her to her room so that she could recover.

So, it could be easy to understand that he was surprised that she was not only back on her crutch in such a short time, but that she had managed to get all the way to the library seemingly by herself. In was rather impressive in his books, to see just how much she was willing to push herself to recover.

Speaking of whom, Junko shrugged slightly in response. "Eh, you know. Just trying to find something to occupy the time, and since the royal pain in the neck finally decided to hide out in his room, I decided to try and do some reading. As for the chair, well, can't really climb stairs with that thing weighing me down, now can I?"

While he didn't exactly approve of her choice of description for their blond-haired heir, and that she would be so quick to leave behind her mode of transport, he honestly felt a bit of joy knowing that he hadn't been the only one to come to that conclusion. But before he could voice his praise at her applying herself, she lifted up her book slightly asked a question he had never anticipated. "Want to join me?"

Him? Join her? As in, she wanted to study together for the sake of studying? That had never happened before! Most people went out of their way to avoid his study sessions since they thought he was to intense so to hear someone actually want to hang out with him outside of cram sessions before exams made an uncontrollable smile force its way across his lips. "Y-Yes! I would very much like that!"

Quickly, though not so quickly that he would look desperate, he grabbed himself a chair and, prompted by her smile sat not a respectable distance from her and looked towards her book. "Now, what is it you need help with?"

She smiled back at him and scooted the book closer to him so that he could see it better and pointed at a paragraph that he recognized as one from an English/Japanese translation book. "Right here, I'm having a bit of trouble translating this one right. I keep getting stuck about at this point."

"I see." He commented with a nod of his head. "Well, I can see where it could be difficult. I myself had had difficulties with that one myself for a while. But, not to worry! What you got to do is…"

And from there they continued, for a good while they both sat there together, going over the various passages and lines from the book and bouncing off of each other what they believed to be how it was pronounced. For about an hour they continued to do this, occasionally though they would stop because the pronunciation one of them had used sounded so off of the mark that it would make one of them, usually Junko, laugh and sputter which would cause the other to start laughing out loud at how outrageous it sounded.

Taka, recovering from their most recent bout of laughter, took a moment to reflect on this moment. It was rather surprising to him, but this had to have been the first time that he'd ever laughed during a study session like that. It was also the first time that he'd had spent so much time actually communing with a person without them suddenly remembering that they had something important to take care of. While he'd been sad to see them go, it had been nice to know that they had taken time out of their busy schedules to chat with him. "I must say, it's quite a welcome sight to see you being so studious!"

To his concern, Junko's smirk suddenly died and she gave him a lidded glare. "What? Did you think I was an idiot because I dress like this?"

"A-Ah! No, my apologies!" he immediately backpaddled. "I meant no offence. I simply wished to express my relief to find that these trying times haven't taken away your desire to improve yourself!"

It was strange, but for some reason the moment she started to scowl, he felt a sharp chill run up his spine. Though he wasn't quite sure why, something about that face made him feel an unholy amount of dread. Maybe it was how it reminded his of his own mother's glare when she'd seen his father do something he really should have known better then to do, or maybe it was how it seemed to make her already somewhat squinty eyes become more angular and threatening, but whatever it was, it made him feel like he would regret upsetting her in the long run.

Just as he was feeling concerned that she might do something to him, she suddenly snorted and a big smile formed on her face as she gave him a shove. "Heh, I know. Really, no offence taken, don't worry 'bout it. I was just messing with you."

"A-Ah, I see." He did his best to not sigh in relief in the off chance she would be offended. It wouldn't do to leave on a sour note after all. Standing up and properly replacing his chair, he gave the fashion model a slight bow. "Well, I'm glad that I could assist you either way."

He gave her a polite smile which she returned with one of her own, and started to make his way to the door. He'd had a good time, but it was time to check up on his bro to see how he was doing and if he was fortunate then maybe Professor Makoto would be willing to have another discussion on how he could make friends.

However, just as he was taking a step, he was suddenly stopped from moving by a sudden grip on his arm. Turning back, he saw that it was Junko had been the one to grab him by his sleeve, and she looked at him with an unusual look in his eyes that he couldn't describe. The fashion model continued to smile though as she tugged on his arm lightly. "Seriously though, I was only funning. If you'd like, I wouldn't mind some company if you wanted to talk some more. I mean, it's not like you have anything pressing to do, right?"

Taka was momentarily stunned at the invitation, it being the first he'd ever gotten to stay after a study session was over. He'd always supposed that once the studying session was over that he should leave. At least, that was what he'd been led to believe from the way his classmates always packed up and left when they'd finished for the day. So, the fact that she was still wanting to talk with him caused his eyes to light up in excitement. Mondo would understand, but he didn't want to make Junko feel like he didn't want to hang out with him.

"Thank you. I will." He stated as he retook his place in his chair, ready to 'hang', as it were.

Junko started it off simple enough, a simple, "So, how goes it?"

"I'm well, thank you for asking." He replied, the response swift and reliable. "How about yourself?"

Junko gave him a softer smile in return, to his concern. "I'm as well as I can be, thanks. But, that wasn't what I meant."

"Ah, of course." What was he thinking using such a traditional response like that? Of course, she would be asking about something specific. "What did you mean then?"

In that moment, Junko's smile which had seemed to be unwavering throughout the past hour, suddenly fell for a look of concern. "I was talking about what happened in the gym. I mean, they really railed against you back there. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

The moral compass cringed at the memory. He hadn't even realized that she had seen how he'd felt with everything going on. "O-oh…right. Well, I appreciate the concern, but you don't need to worry. They were right, in was presumptuous of me to assume that we would all be okay with sharing our deepest secrets so easily. The others are right. I overestimated how much they would value their privacy and was inconsiderate of their desires."

Junko's concerned look faded slightly, but they didn't completely disappear. Even as she shrugged he could see it still in her eyes. "Eh, what can I say? People don't like to talk about their private life. I mean, if what that half-baked freak put in mine is accurate, I can see why they didn't want to share."

"Yeah…" He stated as he ducked down his head, turning away so that she couldn't see how ashamed he felt.

She was right though, he knew that much. For all of his blustering that he could easily tell the other's his secret, he was still terrified by the idea of exposing something so personal so soon into his friendships. Even though he'd said that he could tell anyone without hesitation, he hated to admit that he'd been among those that shredded their letters once they had felt no one was looking. It wasn't even the embarrassing secret that had elected the response from him, but rather what it could mean for the bonds he was trying to build up.

" _Kiyotaka Ishimaru was originally a complete and total slob_."

Starting off, the first one listed was of a time he'd rather had forgotten. It had been before he'd been told about why his family was in such crippling debt, when he still had the gall to think that he didn't need to work hard to get by in life. Constantly pleading to his mother to give him a toy or game that they couldn't afford and never thinking about the pain she and his father had to endure to get it. His grades were terrible even as a kid, and he never tried to push himself in anything. He had been the very definition of a lazy, waste of space, always asking for what he couldn't have and whining when he didn't get his way.

And then his mother passed away.

On that day, even with tears in his eye, his father finally sat him down and explained everything to little Taka, about the story of his grandfather and the debt he'd caused them to be left in, the work that he and his mother had had to endure just to get by, the mocking behind their backs for being related to the former Prime Minister, about how much it broke his mother's heart to hear him ask and ask for toys instead of books and be unable to give him anything. He'd long since grown out of the belief by this point, but the way his father had said it made his little kid mind think that he had been the reason that she died, and that his grandfather's so-called genius was to blame for her getting sick in the first place, unaware that it was just from overworking herself.

That had been the starting point of his change into the man he was today, the point where he'd sworn to prove that he could remake the families name by being the best moral student in the world. Overnight, he had practically reinvented himself, changing his appearance, his attitude, even his outfit. Gone was the boy who couldn't care about his grades, and in his place, was a determined youth who swore never to let himself fall for the same trappings his grandfather did and retake the title of Prime Minister so that everyone would be able to see that he and his family were more than that one mistake.

It was something that he wanted to reserve for when he really got to know someone, even more so then what he'd experienced with Mondo thus far. Maybe later in life, but not now when he barely knew anyone really. Even Mokoto, the professor, he didn't think he could gather up the courage talk about this.

However, for as much as he hated that secret, he hated the other one more.

" _Kiyotaka Ishimaru once got an innocent teen suspended for something he didn't do._ _"_

That had been his greatest embarrassment and shame. Early in his time as a part of the moral's committee, he'd found a student had been in possession of drugs and did his job to report him. No matter how much the boy had claimed himself innocent, that it wasn't even his, Taka had not been swayed. He felt that the boy needed to accept his punishment no matter what.

However, this destroyed the poor kid's reputation at school, and when he returned it was to nothing but scorn. Taka had even felt that it was fine, he'd done something bad, so he had to work hard to get back the people's trust. Simple as that.

However, the boy ended up transferring schools instead because he couldn't handle it any longer, and then it turned out that one of the other students had actually been the one who the illegal drugs had come from. They'd slipped it into the poor boy's bag when no one was looking and let Taka pin the blame on him. Fortunately, Kiyotaka hadn't been blamed for the mistake since they had everyone fooled, and the boy's name was cleared of all charges, but it still gnawed at him that he'd fallen for such a simple trick and got an innocent hurt in the process.

The only secret he hadn't read was the unnamed one, his desire to uphold the other's privacy easily outweighed his curiosity. And really, he should have realized that they wouldn't want their secrets spoken out loud when he himself didn't want to say anything about his own. How could he be so foolish to think that they would willingly go along with it?

It was then that he felt a warm hand placed on his shoulder, and he turned to look at Junko as she gave him a reassuring smile. "Hey, don't look so down. If it's any conciliation, I thought it was a good idea."

Taka's eyes shot right open at that as he jumped, not having expected that from her. "Y-You did? Really!?"

"Totally!" She replied with a million-wat grin on her face full of sincerity. "Hell, I honestly believe that if we to just sit down and, like, talk about things and stuff like this, we could totally find some common ground and we wouldn't be able to play his twisted game. Right?"

"Y-Your…your absolutely right!" Taka exclaimed, her words easily reigniting the fire in his heart. "If we were to talk about our problems, we could come to an understanding and prevent another incident from ever occurring! We would be able to learn from each other, united against our common enemy and able to reach new levels of bonding!"

Just as his passion started to overflow, the memory of what had happened in the gym reared its ugly head once more and he bit his lip in frustration. "I just don't know why they don't understand that we need to get along."

Junko shrugged once more, her eyes closed as she explained, "Eh, that's just how things are. As long as the walls of mind and body exist, people will always have a difference of opinion. Everyone is built on their experiences in life, and everyone handles it differently. The only thing you can do is try and find ways to work around them."

"That's…a fair point." He hated to admit it, but she was right. He didn't know much if anything about how the others were, nor how they had been growing up. The bonds they'd all made were still fresh and so none of them really had a reason to trust one another fully and utterly. Not really. He should have known better.

"Well, what can you do? People are gonna people." Junko stated, dismissingly. As if it was such a simple fact that putting any energy into it was never an option. Then it was gone as she suddenly slammed a hand down on the table, startling him terribly while her eyes suddenly lit up. "Actually, I have an idea that I think you'll like."

Startled though he was, Taka was still her friend and decided to hear her out. "What did you have in mind?"

"Maybe you and the strongest people here should get together and form a kind of night watch."

It took him a moment to think about it, but once the idea had run through his mind a couple of times, Taka's eyes started to light up. "Interesting…yes, I see! By having one of us watching out at night, then it won't matter if one of us decides to commit a murder! We'll be able to prevent the event before it even happens! I must tell bro right away!"

Quickly, he stood up again, ready to dash off to find his bro so that they could get it all set up. Already plans were forming in his mind about how they could manage to do this and the steps he'd need to take to make it a reality.

However, just as he was about to take the first step, he instead found himself being yanked back and almost slamming his head on the table. Taking a moment to look up, he was about to chastise Junko for being so rough when he found himself staring speechless at the unamused expression on her face. "Hold on there, bucko. At least let me finish before you rush off like you're a single house wife on black Friday at the mall."

"Y-Yes, of course." He blushed in embarrassment. "Forgive me, I was a bit over excited. Please, continue."

Junko smiled as he straightened back up, adjusting his uniform, and started to explain. "Thank you, so, here's the idea I had in mind. First, you need a chair. When night time comes around, you and one other person…"


End file.
